Cornell University
Hydrophobic Surfaces—Deposition and Analysis
Couches, carpets, and even computer keyboards now advertise they are spill-resistant, but what does that mean? Scholars use physical and chemical methods to coat surfaces with thin films to test their hydrophobic properties. Then they...
Concord Consortium
Protein Folding Exploring
The potential energy of peptides varies over time as they fold. An exploratory simulation encourages pupils to play with various strands of amino acids to observe the folding and potential energy levels. Young scientists generate all...
Concord Consortium
Protein Folding
Long strings of amino acids fold themselves into stable peptides. The simulation allows scholars to observe the process in multiple ways. Using hydrophobic, hydrophilic, or a combination of proteins in three different solutions, the...
Concord Consortium
Molecular Sorting
Can scientists sort molecules based on their interaction with oil and water? The simulation demonstrates how this is possible. Pupils decide when to insert a molecule and observe how they sort themselves based on polarity.
Concord Consortium
Polar and Non-Polar Interface
Why is there so much frozen water at Earth's poles? Because water is a polar molecule! Young scientists observe polar molecules moving in a mixture of oil and water. They see the changes in potential energy in the hydrophilic and...
Teach Engineering
Aerogels in Action
Model an oil spill cleanup. An engaging engineering lesson has groups using aerogels to simulate an oil spill cleanup (vegetable oil in water). Along the way, they learn about nanotechnology and hydrophilia/hydrophobia.
Teach Engineering
Exploring the Lotus Effect
The Lotus Effect ... is it not some kind of yoga pose. In the last installment of a nine-part series, young scientists observe the Lotus Effect on lotus leaves and water-repellent cloths. They observe how motion and damage affect the...
Teach Engineering
Superhydrophobicity – The Lotus Effect
Discover and demonstrate the Lotus Effect and superhydrophobic surfaces with the eighth installment of a nine-part series that teaches scholars about surfaces that exhibit superhydrophobicity. The lesson continues also describes...
Teach Engineering
Investigating Contact Angle
Discover the properties of water-loving and water-hating surfaces. In the seventh installment of a nine-part series, scholars explore hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces by conducting an experiment. They observe surface coatings,...
Teach Engineering
Wetting and Contact Angle
Explore terminology related to water droplets. The sixth installment of a nine-part series teaches young scientists about wetting and contact angles between water droplets and surfaces. It also distinguishes between hydrophobic and...
Teach Engineering
Density Column Lab - Part 2
Groups suspend objects within layers of liquids to determine the densities of different liquids and compare them to the densities of objects calculated in Part 1. The groups then carefully test their calculations by layering the liquids...
Teach Engineering
Density and Miscibility
The liquids did not mix — so what do density columns have to do with it? The seventh part in a series of nine provides the theoretical explanation of why density columns do not mix. The lesson covers the topics related to mixing and...
Southwestern Medical Center
A Classroom Demonstration of Protein Folding
Does the mention of proteins and polypeptide relationships in your classroom result in mass confusion? Does the attempt to teach this important concept generate multiple questions and, at times, lead to a room filled with blank stares?...
Curated OER
Modeling the Cell Membrane
For this membrane permeability worksheet, students read introductory information about the cell membrane structure as it pertains to permeabillity and draw a representation of the membrane as they complete a lab. Students record the...