Guest lecture · UC Merced
Dislocations and Strengthening of Materials
An activity-centered lesson on crystal defects using physical analogies, group questions, and applied strengthening problems.
The central question
How does the motion of a line defect control the strength and ductility of a material?
- Edge and screw dislocations
- Burgers vectors
- Slip systems
- Schmid’s law
- Work hardening
- Grain and alloy strengthening
Lesson design
How the class unfolded
Visualize
A familiar peeling-corn analogy and crystal diagrams made line defects and slip easier to see.
Reason
Students identified defect types, Burgers-vector relationships, slip planes, and slip directions.
Design
Groups selected strengthening strategies for practical scenarios involving grains, alloys, and deformation.
Assessment & evidence
How learning was made visible
Questions
10 conceptsThe assessment ranged from crystal structures to ductility.Activity
Group worksheetStudents applied the ideas rather than only recalling definitions.Review
Recorded classTwo recordings preserve the lesson and discussion.Student-response files are summarized here but are not published as downloads, even when responses appear anonymous.
Class materials
Open the teaching files
Notebooks and editable files download directly; PDFs and videos may open in the browser.
Lecture slides
Complete presentation with embedded media
Download ↓WordStudent activity
Editable in-class worksheet and questions
Download ↓Video · 57 MBClass recording · Part 1
First portion of the October class
Open resource ↗Video · 18 MBClass recording · Part 2
Second portion of the October class
Open resource ↗