Quick Guide: Nanotechnology gives teachers a quick overview of the topic area. This would be useful reading for teachers preparing to teach this part of the syllabus for the first time who are unfamiliar with the key ideas in this area. The resource includes links to several websites for further information and greater detail.
This short article on the discovery and some of the properties of graphene could be used to enrich a discussion focusing on allotropes of carbon, or in particular the nature of the structure of graphite.
Carbon is a short (3 minute) video from the Royal Institution Professor Stephen Curry surveys the different allotropes of carbon and discusses the importance of the element to life. Included are some nice images of the structures of the allotropes and which could be used as a starter for a lesson looking at carbon as an element.
The melting temperature of carbon, from the Royal Society of Chemistry, is suitable for students who have studied bonding and structure and can calculate relative molecular mass. This activity challenges students to use data on the melting temperature of a number of non-metallic elements to predict the melting temperature of carbon. Information is then provided to show that the logical prediction based on trends in data is very inaccurate.
The resource goes on to link the seemingly anomalously high melting temperature of carbon with its structure as a giant covalent solid whereas the other elements have simple molecular structures. This reinforces students' understanding of the crucial difference between these two types of covalent solid.
This activity would be suitable for more able students and encourages independent learning and an understanding of the importance, strength and weaknesses of predictions in scientific modelling.
Carbon - the Element With Several Identities gives some background information of Sir Harry Kroto and his discovery of buckminsterfullerene and compares the structures of diamond, graphite, and buckminsterfullerene.
It contains a useful visualisation to enable students to picture the size of buckminsterfullerene molecules and asks a series of questions to encourage students to learn and think about the structure and properties of carbon allotropes.
The article Nanotechnology provides a colourful and interesting, short introduction to nanotechnology. It discusses the topic of nanotechnology at a level and in a language suitable for GCSE students and includes many examples of actual and futuristic applications of this technology in an engaging and accessible way without being over technical. Could be used as a class handout for homework reading prior to a first lesson on nanotechnology or as an in-class resource.
Nanotechnology Menu is a suite of activities and resources aimed at enriching the teaching of this topic. The activities vary in level and need to be used selectively but can be used for introducing interesting contexts into a lesson. The first resource gets students to think about scale, and is a very visual approach to helping students to understand the size of nanoparticles in comparison to more familiar objects. This sheet could be used as an introductory activity to a lesson or series of lessons on nanoparticles and nanotechnology.
If you have any ideas or resources to share for teaching this topic, join in the discussion here: Carbon and nanotechnology