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In this activity, learners investigate the properties of graphene and graphite. Learners use tape and graphite to make graphene and learn that graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern. Learners test whether graphite is conductive by using graphite to complete a circuit and light up a light bulb. Notes: the graphite flakes are expensive, but should last a long time. Alternatively, you could try to peel a graphene layer from the pencil, instead of buying the graphite flakes. A pencil should still work, though the quality of the graphene layer will likely be lower.
- 5 to 10 minutes
- 5 to 10 minutes
- Over $20 per group of students
- Ages 4 - adult
- Activity, Lesson/Lesson Plan
- English, Spanish
Quick Guide
Materials List (per group of students)
- Flakes of graphite (natural Kish graphite, grade 200, #SKU-NKG-0501)
- Plastic tweezers with a pointed tip
- Scotch tape
- White activity cards (or index cards)
- Soft drawing pencils (6B is best)
- Pencil sharpener
- 9 volt battery (#55039849)
- 9 volt snap connectors (#270-324)
- 5mm LED bulb (#276-021)
- 330 Ohm resistor (#271-1113)
- 2 insulated leads (#278-1156)
- “Graphene” image sheet
- Photocopy master for activity cards
Subjects
-
Engineering and Technology
-
Engineering
- Metallurgy and Materials Engineering
- Nanotechnology
-
Engineering
-
Physical Sciences
-
Electricity and Magnetism
- Electric Charges and Currents
- Electric Circuits
-
Chemistry
- Chemical Bonding
-
Structure and Properties of Matter
- Atomic Structure
-
Electricity and Magnetism
Audience
To use this activity, learners need to:
- see
- touch
Learning styles supported:
- Involves hands-on or lab activities
Other
Foreign language versions of this resource:
- Spanish: Exploring Materials Graphene - Sign (Spanish)
- Spanish: Exploring Materials Graphene - Guide (Spanish)
- Spanish: Exploring Materials Graphene - Cards (Spanish)
- Spanish: Exploring Materials Graphene - Graphene Sheet (Spanish)
Components that are part of this resource:
- Exploring Materials Graphene - Guide
- Exploring Materials Graphene - Guide
- Exploring Materials Graphene - Sign
- Exploring Materials Graphene - Graphene Sheet
- Exploring Materials Graphene - Graphene Sheet
- Exploring Materials Graphene - Cards
- Exploring Materials Graphene - Cards
This resource is part of:
Access Rights:
- Free access
By:
Rights:
- Creative Commons: Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa), Sciencenter, 2011
Funding Sources:
- National Science Foundation, 0532536
- National Science Foundation, 0940143