Investigating Self-Assembly with Macaroni

In this activity students learn the concept of self-assembly, a powerful tool for creating ordered structures in chemistry and biology. A macroscale example—self-organized macaroni noodles—is described in analogy to the self-assembly of lipid molecules that make up the membranes of cells, or to self-assembled materials, such as self-assembled monolayers. This activity can be incorporated in discussions of noncovalent interactions in general chemistry or in discussions of cell membrane structure in biochemistry. The final product of this activity is a nonhazardous macroscale example of self-assembly that students can poke, prod, and investigate.