Chemistry often involves the study of things much smaller than the naked eye can see. While school districts can afford things like microscopes, they cannot afford high-powered ones. That puts your high school chemistry students at a disadvantage, since they are not able to view much tinier things under a magnified scope.
However, you can buy used nanopositioners and nanopositioning software for sale. You can get this equipment and software at a discount. That might help you, as a science teacher, convince your school district to buy at least one or two used nanopositioners and the software for your classroom. Then you can use the equipment and software to study tiny grain samples in the following ways.
First, Teach Your Students about the Software
Your students will not be able to use the nanopositioners if they do not first understand how to use the software. The software will help them program the nanopositioners, manipulate what the nanopositioners do, and then record the findings from the samples positioned by and examined under the nanopositoners' scopes.
Then Show Them How to Use the Nanopositioners
Learning how to use new equipment in a science lab is always exciting for students. They want to be the first to try it and see what it does. Make sure they know how to use the nanopositioners, since these pieces of equipment are pricey, even when you get them at a used price discount.
Next, Show Them How to Position Tiny Grains under the Scopes
You can use a grain of sand, a grain of sugar, a grain of pure gold or silver, or even a grain of salt as demonstration samples. The nanopositioners will carefully place and push the chosen grains into position under the scopes without damaging their structure. This is key, since human fingers are too big and clumsy to accomplish such a task without flattening structural surfaces of these grains.
Finally, Your Students Will Find Their Own Grains and Record Data
As their assignment, your chemistry students will need to find their own tiny grains of whatever they choose. They will need to demonstrate how to use the software in conjunction with the equipment to view their tiny grains. Repeating the process to produce a table of data within the nanopositioner software is the ultimate goal. When they learn to use sophisticated software and lab equipment such as these, then they can transfer that knowledge over to a future job or a degree program in an accredited college.