PHS 581:
STRUCTURE OF MATTER AND ITS PROPERTIES is a 3-credit course for high school
teachers offered by Arizona State University (ASU) during second summer
session. The course is suitable for
physics, chemistry and physical science teachers.
The
prerequisite is 2 semesters of algebra-based college physics. Although a
semester of calculus is listed in the ASU catalog as a prerequisite, this
course will not be strongly focused on mathematics. Instead, we will strive to develop a
conceptual picture in each of the many topics.
PHS
581 is taught by Robert Culbertson, a regular faculty member in the Department
of Physics. He is a skilled researcher in materials science, and he is
committed to good teaching. Dr. Culbertson has taught this course before, and
teachers rated it excellent!
See
<http://modeling.asu.edu> for registration information.
Description:
The appearance of new materials over
the past few decades has had a dramatic impact on all of our lives. These new materials are incorporated in
applications that range from biologically-compatible implants to heat-resistant
space shuttle tiles to high-speed electronic components in computers and cell
phones. However, the general public's
understanding of how these new materials are conceived and developed is
relatively limited. Thus, the theme of this new course, Structure of Matter and
Its Properties, will be to show the correlation between the structure,
properties, and function of modern materials.
This correlation is based upon the application of principles of
chemistry and physics to understand and control the properties of
materials. The families of materials
that will be studied include metals, ceramics, polymers, semiconductors and
composites.
The plan for the course is to incorporate
together, lectures and discussions, classroom activities, and laboratory
experiences, including demonstrations of advanced materials characterization
techniques. The background useful for
the course includes introductory college chemistry and physics with some
application of algebra and geometry. The
course will build a simple model for understanding materials by scaling the
structure of matter from the atomic to the macroscopic level. The components of this model will include
atomic structure, atomic bonding, crystal structure and defects,
microstructure, and simplified band structure for electronic and optical
properties. An important outcome will be
the development, evaluation, and sharing of new resources that could be used in
the classroom.
A tentative listing of topics to be
studied includes:
1)
Size and scaling of structure of material.
2)
Families of materials and their applications
3)
Atomic, structure, bonding and property correlations
4)
Crystal structure and properties
5)
Defects and microstructure in materials
6)
Ceramic material systems
7)
Metal and alloy systems
8)
Polymer material systems
9)
Composite material systems
10)
Advanced materials and applications
11)
Modern materials characterization techniques
The
textbook is Materials in Today's World, second edition, by Peter A. Thrower
(McGraw-Hill,
ISBN 0-07-050711-2). Textbook information is on the PHS 581 website,
<http://phy.asu.edu/phs581-culbertson> . In 2004, Amazon.com has new
copies (special order) and some used copies. Half.com and other places are also
worth checking.