Be a Scanning Probe Microscope

Student Worksheet:

Try your hand at being a Scanning Probe Microscope!

 Research Phase
 Read the materials provided to you by your teacher. If you have access to the internet, also view the tutorial on this website: http://virtual.itg.uiuc.edu/training/AFM_tutorial/.   It will illustrate how the scanning probe microscopes work and help you understand how you will perform a similar task through this activity.

 Try It Out!
Each student on your team will take turns using a pencil probe to determine the shape or identify of an object in a box.  You may either be blindfolded, or have a hole cut into a box so that your hand and the pencil can be inside without you seeing what is in the box.

Use just the tip of the pencil to examine the content or surface area of the bottom of the box.  In your mind, keep track of the height of the objects you sense, their shape, and overall size.

Next, draw what you "saw" on a piece of paper -- you might want to consider a top and side view to help determine what is in the box.  

When each student on the team has done the investigation, work together and share your drawings and opinions of what is in the box.  Come up with a consensus as a team and develop a final drawing that includes estimated measurements of the object

 Presentation and Reflection Phase
Present your ideas, drawings, and measurements to the class, and listen to the presentations of the other teams.  See how close your team, or the other teams were, in determining the actual size and shape.  Then complete the reflection sheet.

Be a Scanning Probe Microscope

Student Worksheet:

 Reflection 
Complete the reflection questions below:

1. How accurate in terms of the shape was your team in identifying the object?  What did you find in the box?

2. How accurate was your team in determining the actual size of the object in the box?  

3.  By what percentage was your size estimate off from the actual size of the object in the box?

4. Do you think that the amount of time you took to "see" inside the box with the probe impacted how accurate your findings were?

5. Did you think that working as a team made this project easier or harder?  Why?