(364e) Creation of Low-Cost Spectrophotometers for Use By Students
AIChE Annual Meeting
2016
2016 AIChE Annual Meeting
Education Division
Labs and Hands-on Activities at Scale (large classes)
Tuesday, November 15, 2016 - 1:38pm to 1:55pm
We have developed several teaching modules around inexpensive spectrophotometers built by students, which we have used in classrooms of approximately 100 students. In our fall introduction to chemical engineering course, our freshmen students are given a package containing a few materials, including an LED and photoresistor, totaling less than a dollar, and instructed to build a photometer using also an Arduino Uno board. The rest of their spectrophotometer can be created with any materials they desire, often consisting of scraps and garbage. In the spring semesterâ??s freshman design laboratory, students work in groups of three and redesign their apparatus with materials and tools provided in the lab; here they make a more robust product that they will use throughout the semester. These spectrophotometers, depending on the studentâ??s design, may rival even commercial products in their signal to noise ratio and range of sensitivity.
We have also created many of these inexpensive spectrophotometers for use throughout our lab for various purposes. Additionally, we have used them in our K-12 outreach efforts as portions of high school introduction to engineering projects, during engineering summer camps, and in the Science Olympiad.