Composites

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In this activity, learners explore how composites work by creating and testing their own composite for an imaginary company. This activity shows learners that composites are simply materials that are made up of two or more visibly distinct substances. Use this activity to talk about how composites are everywhere in our lives. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
4 to 24 hours
Estimated Materials Cost:
$1 - $5 per student
Age Range:
Ages 11 - 18
Resource Types:
Activity, Experiment/Lab Activity
Language:
English

Materials List (per student)

  • Safety Glasses
  • Plaster of Paris
  • Waxed milk carton side
  • Mold pattern
  • Scissors
  • Tape
  • Paper cups
  • Stirring sticks
  • Reinforcement materials

Keywords

Subjects

  • Engineering and Technology
    • Engineering
      • Civil Engineering
      • Mechanical Engineering
      • Metallurgy and Materials Engineering
  • Physical Sciences
    • States of Matter
      • Solids
    • Structure and Properties of Matter
      • Atomic Structure
  • The Nature of Technology
    • The Design Process
      • Invention and Innovation

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Uses STEM to solve real-world problems
  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Includes alignment to state and/or national standards:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Rights:

Funding Sources:

  • NSF Grant DMR, 1120296
  • NSF Grant DMR, 0079992