Contents
|
Composites Suggested Activities 1) Have students research the history of composite materials. Construct a timeline on transparencies which can be later superimposed with the timelines of the other areas. 2) Examine the classroom and identify composite materials. Make a list of the ones that the students find. 3) Explore the concept of optically active materials like cellophane by putting cellophane between two sheets of polarizing film and manipulating both the cellophane and the lenses. 4) Examine the art work of Austine Wood Comarow at http://www.austine.com/. Simple polages can be made in the classroom using petri dishes, polarizing film sheets, cellophane, and gum arabic. Have students create their own polage and display it in a light box. 5) Study the common materials concrete and explain why this composite can offer properties which none of the individual components possess. Make some concrete in class and vary the proportions to see how this effects the final material. 6) Study the properties of stress-skinned composites by reinforcing foam insulation board with paper pieces. Instructions for this lab can be found at http://science-ed.pnl.gov/msthandbook.stm. 7) Many types of food are in fact composite materials. Have students select and prepare some "composite matrix" foods.
|
