Introduction to Nanotechnology Lesson Plan
Created by UnderstandingNano.com

This lesson plan was created to help middle school science teachers provide an introduction to nanotechnology in a classroom setting, making use of the information provided on this Web site.

I. Introduce the Concept of Nanotechnology

Provide this definition to your students: Nanotechnology is the study and use of structures between 1 nanometer and 100 nanometers in size.

Ask the students: What is the smallest thing you can think of? Answers might include a human hair, the head of a pin, or an atom.

Reading 1: Now have students read the Nanotechnology Introduction page (www.understandingnano.com/introduction.html).

Discussion 1: Hold a discussion about the basic concepts of nanotechnology, which might include these topics:

You learned in this introduction that scientists had to imagine the characteristics of nanoparticles for years before they developed special microscopes that allowed them to see them. What would it be like to work with a material you can't see? Are there other fields of science where you work with things you can't see? (Radio waves, gravity, etc.)
Which is bigger: a nanoparticle, an atom, or a molecule? Discuss the fact that, depending on the composition and number of atoms in a molecule, it can vary from a few tenths of a nanometer in diameter to hundreds of nanometers in length. Similarly, different types of atoms may have diameters ranging from a tenth of a nanometer to 5 tenths of a nanometer. Nanoparticles also vary in size, ranging up to 100 nanometers. All of these can be measured in nanometers, a measurement with a constant size of one billionth of a meter.

2. Explore an Application of Nanotechnology

Discussion 2: Some scientific fields focus on one type of material or process, such as biology that focuses on living organisms and metereology that focuses on the weather. What does nanotechnology focus on? Remind the students of the definition of nanotechnology; this study of structures of small size can be applied in just about any field. Nanotechnology is currently being used in medicine, the environment, to add strength to materials such as fabrics, space flight, and so on.

Research and Report: Have students pick one of the applications pages on the UnderstandingNano Web site (www.understandingnano.com/nanotech-applications.html) to read. Encourage them to follow links on the site for additional information, if they like. Have them create a brief report about what they have read and present it to the class.

3. The Future of Nanotechnology

Explain that nanotechnology has the potential to be a disruptive technology, meaning that it could cause extreme change in our society that could have a variety of consequences. An example of this would be the industrial revolution, which changed the economy of most of our cultures from agrarian to manufacturing based.

Discussion 3: Pick one of these topics:

The molecular replicator (www.understandingnano.com/molecular-manufacturing.html), once developed, could allow people to simply produce many items they need themselves with no need for a company to manufacturer those products. What would this do to our economy as we know it today? What if everybody could produce their own clothing, iPod, and shoes? Would it help poorer people or would it put people out of work? How would the world change?
In the world of medicine nanotechnology could change the human lifespan (www.understandingnano.com/medicine.html). Repairs at the cellular level could stop and even reverse aging. If everybody could live hundreds of years, what would happen to our world? Would only an elite few get such treatment and what consequences would that have? If nobody ever died, would people have to stop having children to avoid overpopulation? What would that mean to our society?

You can hold a discussion with the entire class, or break up into smaller groups with some groups making an argument for the benefits of these changes, and the other groups arguing the case that such changes would bring more harm than good to our society.

Optional Activity: Hold debates between the groups on the above discussion topics.

Wrap up the lesson by pointing out that nanotechnology offers great potential for advancement, and that, as with any scientific breakthrough, it also raises ethical and societal questions.

May be printed for classroom use
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