Quantum Dotting the “i” of Inquiry: A Guided Inquiry Approach to Teaching Nanotechnology

When illuminating four “mystery” vials of nanoparticle solution with a 405‐nm light emitting diode (LED), four distinct colors related to the peak wavelength of fluorescent emission can be observed.1 This phenomenon perplexes high school physics students and leads to the subsequent exploratory quest...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Physics teacher 2010-03, Vol.48 (3), p.186-188
Main Authors: Laubach, Timothy A., Elizondo, Lee A., McCann, Patrick J., Gilani, Shahryar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Educational Strategies
Inquiry
Laboratory Experiments
Light
Physics
Science Activities
Science Experiments
Science Instruction
Science Laboratories
Scientific Concepts
Secondary School Science
Teaching Methods
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Summary:When illuminating four “mystery” vials of nanoparticle solution with a 405‐nm light emitting diode (LED), four distinct colors related to the peak wavelength of fluorescent emission can be observed.1 This phenomenon perplexes high school physics students and leads to the subsequent exploratory question, “Why are the four vials emitting a different color light if they all contain the same material and are illuminated with the same light source?” That question gives students the opportunity to collect and analyze data, which leads to the development of the inherent scientific concept that the color of the emitted light depends on the size of the material (quantum dot) suspended in solution.
ISSN:0031-921X
1943-4928
DOI:10.1119/1.3317454