The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) present both a challenge and anopportunity in terms of integrating material science into the high school chemistry classroom. On the one hand, the standards do not specifically identify composites in the core ideas for chemistry, raising the possibility that they could be left out of a high school chemistry curriculum. On the other hand, the standards emphasize cross-cutting concepts - concepts that bridge the life, physical, and earth/space sciences, as well as engineering, technology and applications of science. Composites also span this bridge, and many material science-based labs or demonstrations are well-suited for inquiry and assessment. For example, comparing the changes in properties caused by different attractions between polymer chains is an idea way to explore, reinforce, or even assess the concept of intermolecular forces. While the changes in physical properties due to the introduction of hydrogen bonds or covalent crosslinks can be measured, they are also obvious enough to be compared without measurements. Other main concepts can be explored and explained using polymers and other material science topics and many existing material science-based lessons can be adapted to fit an NGSS curriculum. The level of exploration and explanation can be adjusted for the course level, using a more conceptual approach for the basic classes, with more detailed inquiry available for the pre-AP chemistry classes. Developing additional materila science lab resources and linking existing high school polymer and other solid state of matter labs to specific NGSS performance expectations will promote the long-term integration of material science and composites into high school classrooms.

Composites: Creating new materials

254th National Meeting (2017)

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