How Small is That? (11-12)
Introduction: Nanotechnology is not a separate field of science, it is
the application of knowledge and process at a different scale one that is very small. Nanotechnology can be described as
the ability to imagine, design, model or manipulate a
substance at the molecular or atomic level. Nanotechnology is
not a new idea. Richard Feynman (a physicist from Caltech) in
1959 described a process of using one set of tools to build a
amputd.com
proportionally smaller set of tools, until a set of tools was
created that could operate on an incredibly small scale. He also proposed that at
this scale gravity would become less important and things like surface tension
would become more important. Scientists know the properties of some materials
are incredibly different at the nanolevel than at the macrolevel.
Purpose: The purpose of this activity is to begin to understand the scale used by
nanoscientists.
Materials: an object of your choice (football, book, piece of candy, etc.), ruler, sugar
cube, calculator, outside resources
Procedure:
1. You are probably familiar with the metric prefixes kilo- (meaning 1000) and
milli- (meaning 0.001). The prefix nano- appears more and more often in current
newspaper and magazine articles. What does the term nano mean to you?
Answers will vary.
2. Perhaps you “read” the prefix nano- as very small and that’s OK. Your job
today is to figure out just how small that really is. There are one billion
(1,000,000,000) nanometers in a meter. Look at the object you brought with you
today. If the length of that object represents one nanometer, where would the
billionth one be? In other words, how long would a meter be IF your object
represented one nanometer? (No answer required here, just think about it.)
3. Develop a procedure to answer the question. Write the steps of your
procedure in the space below. Show all your calculations (both numbers and
units please) and circle your answer.
Procedure and answers should show correct use of conversion factors and use of
significant figure rules if requested.
4. Sugar (C12H22O11) is made of sugar molecules that are too small for us to see.
One molecule of sugar is approximately one nanometer in length. Measure the
length of a sugar cube. Write its length here.
1.5cm on a side. (They aren’t all exactly the same.)
a. How many sugar molecules are along the edge of one sugar cube?
15,000,000 molecules along an edge
b. If a sugar molecule was a cube (it’s not, but that’s
OK) what is the volume of a sugar molecule?
1nm3
2.54 cm = 1 inch
1 meter = 100 cm
1,000,000,000 nm = 1m
c. What is the volume of a sugar cube in cubic nanometers?
3.375 x 1021 nm3
d. How many sugar molecules, pretending the molecules are cubes, are there in
one sugar cube? Show your work.
3.375 x 1021 molecules in a sugar cube.
e. Does your sugar cube contain more or less than one mole of sugar? How do
you know?
Less than. One mole would be 6.02 x 1023 molecules and according to my
calculations for part d, we have less than that.
Summing Up:
1. Comment on your results. Include answers to these questions. Were you
surprised by how vast a meter was if your object represented one nanometer?
Were you surprised by the number of sugar molecules in a sugar cube?
Students comments should be appropriate for their level.
2. Look back at the picture at the beginning of the lab. Research to find out the
size of a typical red blood cell in nanometers. What is the size of the illustrated
nanobot? What could such a robot be used for?
Red blood cells are between 6000 and 8000nm across. If the drawing is to scale, the
nanobot must be about the same size. Uses will vary.
3. If you put the first object right outside the school door, predict where your
“meter” would end. For example, would it still be in your school? your town? your
state?
Answers will vary.
4. Use outside resources to describe where the billionth object would be. Show
all calculations in a neat and logical format.
Answers will vary but the billionth 17.8cm long test tube will take you around the
world about 4½ times!
How Small is That?
Introduction: Nanotechnology is not a separate field of science, it
is the application of knowledge and process at a different
scale - one that is very small. Nanotechnology can be
described as the ability to imagine, design, model or
manipulate a substance at the molecular or atomic level.
Nanotechnology is not a new idea. Richard Feynman (a
physicist from Caltech) in 1959 described a process of
using one set of tools to build a proportionally smaller set
amputd.com
of tools, until a set of tools was created that could operate
on an incredibly small scale. He also proposed that at this scale gravity would
become less important and things like surface tension would become more
important. Scientists know the properties of some materials are incredibly
different at the nanolevel than at the macrolevel.
Purpose: The purpose of this activity is to begin to understand the scale used by
nanoscientists.
Materials: an object of your choice (football, book, piece of candy, etc.), ruler, sugar
cube, calculator, outside resources
Procedure:
1. You are probably familiar with the metric prefixes kilo- (meaning 1000) and
milli- (meaning 0.001). The prefix nano- appears more and more often in current
newspaper and magazine articles. What does the term nano mean to you?
2. Perhaps you “read” the prefix nano- as very small and that’s OK. Your job
today is to figure out just how small that really is. There are one billion
(1,000,000,000) nanometers in a meter. Look at the object you brought with you
today. If the length of that object represents one nanometer, where would the
billionth one be? In other words, how long would a meter be IF your object
represented one nanometer? (No answer required here, just think about it.)
3. Develop a procedure to answer the question. Write the steps of your
procedure in the space below. Show all your calculations (both numbers and
units please) and circle your answer.
4. Sugar (C12H22O11) is made of sugar molecules that are too small for us to see.
One molecule of sugar is approximately one nanometer in length. Measure the
length of a sugar cube. Write its length here.
a. How many sugar molecules are along the edge of one sugar cube?
b. If a sugar molecule was a cube (it’s not, but that’s
OK) what is the volume of a sugar molecule?
2.54 cm = 1 inch
1 meter = 100 cm
1,000,000,000 nm = 1m
c. What is the volume of a sugar cube in cubic nanometers?
d. How many sugar molecules, pretending the molecules are cubes, are there in
one sugar cube? Show your work.
e. Does your sugar cube contain more or less than one mole of sugar? How do
you know?
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Summing Up:
1. Comment on your results. Include answers to these questions. Were you
surprised by how vast a meter was if your object represented one nanometer?
Were you surprised by the number of sugar molecules in a sugar cube?
2. Look back at the picture at the beginning of the lab. Research to find out the
size of a typical red blood cell in nanometers. What is the size of the illustrated
nanobot? What could such a robot be used for?
3. If you put the first object right outside the school door, predict where your
“meter” would end. For example, would it still be in your school? your town? your
state?
4. Use outside resources to describe where the billionth object would be. Show
all calculations in a neat and logical format.