The document below includes an overview of the first module created for this project, focused on Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The main objective of this module is to introduce students to nanotechnology by having them explore a nanotechnological tool, its’ working principles, and its’ real life applications. The potential standards that could be addressed with this module:

Grade 8
8.MS-PS1-1. Develop a model to describe that (a) atoms combine in a multitude of ways to produce pure substances which make up all of the living and nonliving things that we encounter, (b) atoms form molecules and compounds that range in size from two to thousands of atoms, and (c) mixtures are composed of different proportions of pure substances.
8.MS-PS1-2. Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
8.MS-PS1-5. Use a model to explain that atoms are rearranged during a chemical reaction to form new substances with new properties. Explain that the atoms present in the reactants are all present in the products and thus the total number of atoms is conserved.

Grade 9
HS-PS2-6. Communicate scientific and technical information about the molecular-level structures of polymers, ionic compounds, acids and bases, and metals to justify why these are useful in the functioning of designed materials.*
HS-PS4-5. Communicate technical information about how some technological devices use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions with matter to transmit and capture information and energy.*
HS-ETS2-4(MA). Explain how manufacturing processes transform material properties to meet a specified purpose or function. Recognize that new materials can be synthesized through chemical and physical processes that are designed to manipulate material properties to meet a desired performance condition.
HS-ETS3-1(MA). Model a technological system in which the output of one subsystem becomes the input to other subsystems.