Topography and morphology analysis of marine nanoparticles and a pedagogical study of representations used for improving a high school experiment

Abstract: The Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study expedition took place during the autumn of 2008 and brought back water and air samples. One theory was that marine particles were shot into the atmosphere by bubble bursting and, while in the atmosphere, acted as cloud condensation nuclei. Particles collected from the subsurface water, surface microlayer and just above the surface had their topography and morphology analyzed using a scanning electron microscope. Due to a lack of EDS analysis it's impossible to say for sure if the particles found were the same found in previous studies, just that it is highly likely that they are. No evidence against the marine particles being able to act as cloud condensation nuclei was found but the data gathered was not sufficient to strengthen the theory either. The scanning electron microscope was also used in a pedagogical study, analyzing how operators with different knowledge and prior experience interact with the microscope's images. These results as well as knowledge gained from literature studies were used to improve a high school experiment regarding centripetal acceleration. The main issue with the experiment was that what the students learned performing the experiment was not the same as the theoretical models the teachers wished the students to learn. The reason for this was because the experimental equipment lacked the centripetal model's external representations such as force arrows. If a simulator would be incorporated into the lab centripetal acceleration representations could be visualized and a clearer connection between experiment and theory could be made.