PHS 581: STRUCTURE OF
MATTER AND ITS PROPERTIES is a
three-credit course for high school teachers held 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.
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
representative list 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, third edition, by Peter A. Thrower and Thomas
Mason. This is new in 2008. (McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-050711-2 ?). In 2009, Amazon.com has new copies
(in stock, $47.47).
Course information is on the
PHS 581 website, <http://physics2.asu.edu/phs581-culbertson> .