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Metals Suggested Activities 1) Have students research the history of metal use. Construct a timeline on transparencies which can be later superimposed with the timelines of the other areas. 2) Examine the periodic table and identify the areas which are metals. Provide examples of several of these metals so that students can compare and contrast them. 3) Conduct a lab in which students measure the properties of the metals provided in #2. Examples of chemical and physical properties to explore includes malleability, ductility, conductivity, density, flame color, reactivity with acids. 4) Study the reasons why not all metals are appropriate for use in jewelry after doing the lab in #3. Have students write a short treatise on this subject. 5) Allow students to experience the properties of malleability and ductility by creating a piece of jewelry using the bent wire technique. Many art classrooms will have bending jigs and wire of copper or silver available. 6) Research crystalline structure as it applies to metals and alloys at different temperatures and compositions. Conduct a lab in which students construct models of crystal types. Mini-marshmallows and toothpicks work well. 7) Examine the structure of alloys and how this combining of metals affects the crystalline matrix. Introduce the idea of phase diagrams and how they show the properties of the alloy at many compositions. 8) Have students alloy copper and zinc using pre1982 pennies. Lab instructions can be found at http://science-ed.pnl.gov/msthandbook.stm. 9) Study phase change in metals by doing the very interesting lab on aluminum and zinc alloys at http://science-ed.pnl.gov/msthandbook.stm.
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