Polymers

 

Polymer Basics        Name ___________________________

Use the sites on the Matter & Atoms page of the Kid Zone at http://sciencespot.net/ to complete this worksheet.

Site #1: HandsOn Plastics 

1. Plastics are polymers___________________, which is something made of many ___units____________ similar to a chain. Each

link in the chain is the “___mer___” or basic unit usually made out of ____carbon_________, ____hydrogen________, ___oxygen__________,

and/or _________silicon_____.  To make the chain, many links or units are hooked or _________polymerized____________ together.

2. Many common classes of polymers are composed of ______hydrocarbons_________________, which contain the elements

carbon and hydrogen. List seven elements that are also found in polymers: _____Oxygen_________, _____chlorine_________,

______fluorine________, _______nitrogen_______, ______silicon________, ___phosphorous___________, and ______sulfur________.

3. What is one of the most famous silicon-based polymers? _______Silly Putty________________

4.  What are the general attributes (properties) of polymers?

 A. Polymers can be very resistant to ___chemicals_________________.

 B. Polymers can be both ______thermal___________ and _____electrical____________ insulators.

 C. Polymers are very light in ______mass___________ with varying degrees of _____strength____________.

 D. Polymers can be _______processed__________ in various ways to produce thin fibers or very intricate parts.

5. What percentage of our trash are plastics? _____9.9_____%

6. What does WTE mean? _____waste_______-____to___-___energy________ What are two benefits of WTE? 

 1 – We can use plastics that cannot be ________recycled_____________.

 2 – Incineration of polymers produces ________heat____ _____energy__________. 

Site #2:  History of Plastics

Read the information on this page to help you complete this section. Fill in the blanks with the year it was first

produced and the last name(s) of the person credited with the discovery/development. Use the information to list the

substances with dates from the oldest to the most recent in the box. 

Rayon – Developed in ___________ by ____________________________

Silly Putty - Developed in ___________ by ____________________________

Cellophane - Discovered in ___________ by ____________________________

Parkesine - Discovered in ___________ by ____________________________

Nylon - Developed in ___________ by ____________________________

Bakelite - Developed in ___________ by ____________________________

Velcro - Developed in ___________ by ____________________________

Saran - Discovered in ___________ by ____________________________ 

PVC (Vinyl) – Developed by ____________________________

Polyethylene – Developed in ___________ by _______________ & _______________

Teflon – Discovered in ___________ by ____________________________

Celluoid - Developed in ___________ by ____________________________

Plastics Timeline

Oldest to Most Recent

1_____________________

2_____________________

3_____________________

4_____________________

5_____________________

6_____________________

7_____________________

8_____________________

9_____________________

10____________________

11____________________

Site #3:  Polymers – They’re Everywhere

 Plastics are soft and moldable during their production. The building blocks for making plastics are small organic molecules. They generally come from oil or natural gas but can also come from organic materials such as wood fibers, corn, or banana peels.

Site #4 – Polymer Flash Activities

1. Click the link to make a virtual polymer and choose polyethylene.

 A. What type of monomer is used to make this polymer? ______ethylene molecules______________

 B. What elements and how many of each is in one of these monomers?

  C = _____Carbon_________  # - __4___  H = ______________  # -___1__

 C. What starts the process? _____________________

2. Click the link to try the matching games.  Record your times or scores in the blanks below.

 A. Breakfast Game– 1st Try = _______   2nd Try = _______  3rd Try = _______

B. Polymer Game - – 1st Try = _______   2nd Try = _______  3rd Try = _______