Structure and Properties of Metal

Demonstration Instructions

Materials Needed

Quantity Materials

1 Nitinol Spring

4 per group Steel Springs ( 0.5 to 1.0% Carbon)

6 per group Paper Clips (≅0.2% Carbon)

4 per group Bobby Pins (≅0.7% Carbon)

1 per group Rigs for Springs

1 per student Hand Outs

4 bottles Nail Polish (Different Colors)

- Rocks/Weights

1 Propane Blow Torch

1 per group Plastic Cups

1 Ball of Twine

1 Cup of Hot Water

1 Scissors

1 per group Meter Sticks

2 per group Ziploc Bags

Procedure
● Metal Treatment
○ Heat treating bobby pins
■ Control - do not treat
■ Annealed - heat bend in bobby pin until red hot and cool slowly in air
■ Quenched - heat bend in bobby pin until red hot and quench in ice water
■ Tempered - heat bend in bobby pin until red hot and quench in ice water
then reheat below red hot
○ Heat treating paper clips
■ Control - do not treat
■ Annealed - heat large bend in paper clip until red hot and cool slowly in
air
■ Quenched - heat large bend in paper clip until red hot and quench in ice
water
■ Tempered - heat large bend in paper clip until red hot and quench in ice
water then reheat below red hot
○ Heat treating steel springs
■ Control - do not treat
■ Annealed - heat spring until red hot and cool slowly in air
■ Quenched - heat spring until red hot and quench in ice water
■ Tempered - heat spring until red hot and quench in ice water then reheat
below red hot

● Color Coding
○ Paint one end of control items (paper clips, bobby pins, and springs) the same
color
○ Repeat with annealed, quenched, and tempered items
■ Do not paint over heat treatment
○ Place one paper clip and bobby pin of each treatment in a ziploc bag together
○ Place one spring of each treatment in a ziploc bag together

● Test Rigs
○ Create weight holder
■ Cut a hole near the top of the plastic cup
■ Loop twine through the hole
■ Tie the two ends of the twine together
■ Attach an untreated paperclip to the twine
○ Attach an untreated paperclip to the eyelet on the test stand
○ Attach one end of a spring to the paper clip
○ Attach the other end of the spring to the paperclip on the weight holder
● Demo Preparation
○ Do not hand out materials to students until they are needed

● Demo Instructions
○ Paper Clips and Bobby Pins
■ Hand out the bag of paperclips and bobby pins
■ Read instructions to students
■ Have students:
● Slowly pull ends apart the bobby pins and record observations for
each color on the worksheet
● Bend the paper clips into S shapes and record observations for
each color on the worksheet
■ Lead student discussion of results
○ Springs
■ Hand out the bags of springs, test rigs, and meter sticks
■ Have students:
● Place a spring on the hook
● Measure the original length of the spring
○ Ensure students complete this step
● Add the given weight 1 rock at a time
● Make sure someone is holding the base for safety reasons
● Measure how much it’s stretched with the weight still attached
● Remove weight
● Measure final length
● Repeat with each color of spring
■ Lead student discussion of results
● Do not tell students the treatment of each color
○ Nitinol Spring
■ Ensure the water is hot
● The water may need to be warmed during the spring demo
discussion questions
■ Do not mention many details about the nitinol spring to allow discussion
later
■ Place the cup of water under the document camera, if available
■ Deform the spring
■ Dunk the spring in water
■ Allow students to deform spring, only if logistically possible
■ Lead student discussion of results

● Discussion Questions
○ Power Point (Do not reveal information on each slide until discussion is
complete)
■ What is a metal?
 ■ What are types of defects that could occur in a metal?
■ What are examples of mechanical properties of metals?

○ Paper Clips and Bobby Pins

■ What caused the differences in how each of the bobby pins and the paper
clips behaved when bent?
■ What are some differences between how the paperclips and the bobby
pins reacted to being bent?
■ If they’re both made of steel, why might they behave differently?
○ Springs
■ Knowing that these springs have a carbon content similar to the bobby
pins and have been prepared in the same way, how do you think they will
behave when weight is added?
■ Which color spring will deform the most?
■ Which color spring will deform the least?
○ Metal Treatment
■ Which color is annealed?
■ Which color is quenched?
■ Which color is tempered?
■ Which color is the control?
■ Did the bobby pins, paper clips, and springs have similar results?
○ Nitinol
■ What could be different about the spring compared to the springs used
earlier?