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Photo Crystallography
Stephen A. Zolock
Greensburg Salem Senior High School, Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Subject: Science/Chemistry
Grade: 10-12
"Students at any age would marvel in amazement as they watch
crystals grow under the microscope or in the macroscopic world."
Purpose and Description of Project
Stephen A. Zolock made photography an integral part of his students'
study of the growth and structure of crystals so that students
would have a permanent record of these delicate formations at
various stages. The students took photos throughout seven days
of experimentation, arranged their pictures with captions on poster
paper, and attached summaries they had written of their conclusions.
The finished products were displayed both in the chemistry room
and in the crystal showcase in the science wing of the building.
Zolock says that the project generated an enormous amount of self-pride
in the students as they accomplished the photographic project
totally on their own." It also helped the young people learn
to manage time better, work efficiently in teams, analyze and
interpret detail in photos, and use scientific methods to learn
about the nature of crystals.
During the project, the students photographed every step of their
activities-growing crystals in supersaturated solutions and studying
the resulting crystals; studying the magnified structure of crystalline
solids in everything from aspirin to snowflakes; watching the
growth of crystals as chemicals were dissolved in water or melted
over heat; seeing how well the crystals they had grown acted as
prisms by using homemade spectroscopes; and making models of crystal
growths.
Activities
The day before the student experiments began, the teacher spent
one class period going over basic
camera operations,
handling, care,
and photographic
composition. The students then worked in
teams to carry out subsequent activities and took pictures of every step.
- Students prepared saturated and supersaturated solutions of
such salts as sodium nitrate, copper sulfate, and sodium bromate.
The solutions were allowed to evaporate for 24 hours; larger crystals
were removed and attached to strings to dangle in the solutions
and continue to grow.
- Students used compound microscopes to observe and describe
such granular crystals as mica, asbestos, and table sugar. They
also dissolved various chemicals in water or solvents and watched
crystals develop as the solutions evaporated, and observed crystal
growth resulting from the heating of chemical solids.
- The teams constructed their own spectroscopes out of shoeboxes
and experimented to see which of the crystals they had grown themselves
(from the initial supersaturated solutions) were best suited to
produce a light spectrum.
- Using their own photographs, observations, and research, the
students constructed models of crystals with styrofoam spheres.
Using photos they had taken at each stage of the project, the
student teams arranged their photos on poster paper, and attached
captions and summaries of their findings. Each team gave an oral
report of its work. The displays were then opened to wider audiences,
and photos detailing the total project were mounted sequentially
in an album.
Materials, Resources, and Expenses
Various school staff cooperated with and provided material for
the project-microscopes and slides from the biology department,
poster paper from the art department, and typing by the business
department. Loaned by the teacher were 35 mm cameras and a
Kodak camera.
Types of
film
used were KODACOLOR 100 and 24-exposure
KODACOLOR II Color Print Film; 20-exposure KODACHROME 64 Film for
color slides; and KODAK PLUS-X Film for black-and-white
prints.
Outcomes and Adaptability
Zolock reports that the use of photography enhanced his students'
studies in a number of ways. It generated excitement and enthusiasm
about the subject of crystallography helped the students improve
their observational skills, and recorded the results of their
experiments for later, more in-depth study. The photo crystallography
album resulting from these students' efforts will also help future
students, says the teacher, as succeeding classes use, add to,
and improve it.
Stressing the importance of the camera as a tool that will enhance
the scientific process, Zolock urges other teachers to incorporate
photography in classroom activities. "An innovative teacher
at any grade level could adapt in part or entirely the simplified
procedures of photo-crystal growing into a classroom learning
experience" he asserts. He also notes that if the teacher
has access to a camera and a camera microscope, the cost per student
for film and developing would be only about $7, and that the cost
could be reduced even more by producing slide shows rather than
print displays.