Low Cost Demonstrations To Teach Structure Of Materials

Demonstrations and hands-on exercises have been used to enhance student learning in a materials science course for general engineering students. Using styrofoam balls, toothpicks, and simple organic chemistry models, students build crystal structures, polymer chains, and amorphous silica structures. These models are then used to illustrate slip in metal crystals, the origin of surface energy, and the interaction of polymer chains. This paper will focus on how these materials are used throughout the course both inside and outside the classroom. A second demonstration where students learn the differences between ductile and brittle fracture through the splitting of wood will be presented.