material science teachers aide

Unit: Properties of Matter

Subject: Polymers
Grade Level: 5 8
Key topics: Polymer, Monomer,
Recycling

Making Things f rom Recycled Polymers:

Lect ure/ Demonst rat ion/ Lab Act ivit y
Developed by: Hank Grizzle, College Prof essor ( hank.grizzle@gmail.com)

T able of Cont e nt s
Overview...........................................................................................
Science St andards Addressed ..........................................................
Goals/ Object ives .............................................................................
Mat erials and Equipment ..................................................................
Key Vocabulary Words .....................................................................
Saf et y ...............................................................................................
Procedure ( t ot al est imat ed t ime- 2 hrs) ..........................................
Assessment Examples: .....................................................................
Locat ing Mat erials ............................................................................
Background Inf ormat ion ...................................................................
Ref erences........................................................................................
Acknowledgement ............................................................................

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Ove rvie w
This lesson discusses t he basics of polymers and t heir uses. The lesson
also discusses t he pot ent ial of polymers as recycled mat erials. St udent s
will experience polymer propert ies and t heir recycle pot ent ial by building a
variet y of project s f rom polymers.

Scie nce St andards Addre sse d

E.1 Abilit ies of t echnological design
F.2 Populat ions, resources, and environment s
F.5 Science and t echnology in societ y

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material science teachers aide

Unit: Properties of Matter

Subject: Polymers
Grade Level: 5 8
Key topics: Polymer, Monomer,
Recycling

Goals/ Obje ct ive s

St udent s will underst and and be able t o explain general

charact erist ics of polymers.
St udent s will be able t o discuss t he basic propert ies of polymers.
St udent s will be able t o const ruct project s and models f rom
recycled polymers.
St udent s will be able t o do t he mat h required t o const ruct t heir
project s.
St udent s will be able t o research and choose mat erials f or t heir
project s.
St udent s will be able t o describe t he propert ies of mat erials t hat
are required f or t heir project .

Mat e rials and Equipme nt

A variet y of polymers St yrof oam packing, St yrof oam peanut s,

drinking cups plast ic bot t les, et c.
Plast ic grocery bags St yrof oam balls et c.
Plast ic t oot hpicks
Scroll saws, scissors, art knives
A variet y of glues including some t hat dont work on St yrof oam
( marshmallow cream does work well)
Saf et y glasses

Ke y V ocabulary Words
At om -The smallest part icle of an element
Poly me r - a large molecule f ormed when many smaller molecules are
linked t oget her by covalent bonds
Monome r - The small unit which is repeat ed over and over t o make a
polymer
Re cy cling - A process which t urns wast e mat erial int o a new usable
mat erial
Duct ile - Workabilit y, mat erials t hat can easily be changed in shape.
Duct ile mat erials can be rolled int o sheet s, drawn int o wires, et c.
Me lt ing point - The t emperat ure at which a subst ance melt s
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material science teachers aide

Unit: Properties of Matter

Subject: Polymers
Grade Level: 5 8
Key topics: Polymer, Monomer,
Recycling

Me lt ing range - Melt ing range a range of t emperat ures at which some
subst ances melt . ( Not all subst ances have a def init e melt ing point .
This is especially t rue of subst ances such as polymers which are
composed of ext remely large molecules
Prope rt y - A qualit y or at t ribut e of a mat erial or subst ance

Saf e t y
Safety Goggles Required

Proce dure ( t ot al e st imat e d t ime - 2 hrs)

Set -Up ( 5 minut es)
Put all mat erials on a cent ral t able where t hey will be available t o
st udent s.
During ( Two class sessions)
Begin wit h a pre lab int roduct ion. Get st udent s t o read t he f ollowing
select ion and answer t he pre lab quest ions.
A polymer is a very large molecule called a macromolecule.
Macromolecules are made up of smaller molecules connect ed by chemical
bonds. These molecule chains or st rings are mixed in a very disordered or
way much like a t angled ball of yarn. Polymers are bonded wit h a
combinat ion of st rong and weak bonds. This is why polymers are sof t and
plast ic. The lengt h of t he chain along wit h t he number and t ypes of bonds
det ermines t he physical propert ies of t he dif f erent polymers.
When we t hink of polymers, we usually t hink plast ics; however,
t here are many ot her t ypes of polymers. DNA and prot ein are also
polymers. Cellulose f ibers f ound in wood is also a polymer. This kind of
polymer is used in making paper. There are also many more kinds of
polymers.
The word polymer comes f rom t he Greek words, Poly and meros,
meaning many part s.
Scient ist s were working wit h polymers in t he early 1 8 0 0 s. A bet t er
underst anding of polymer st ruct ure emerged in t he 1 9 2 0 s leading t o
rapid development of t he polymer indust ry.
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material science teachers aide

Unit: Properties of Matter

Subject: Polymers
Grade Level: 5 8
Key topics: Polymer, Monomer,
Recycling

The process of making polymers is known as polymerizat ion.

Polymers are light and st rong. They have many uses. Trash bags,
sandwich bags, St yrof oam packing mat erials and ball point pens are all
made of polymers. Polymers are also f ound in many part s of cars and
t rucks.
Polymers do not have a def init e melt ing point , Polymers under go
phase changes gradually as t hey heat up and t he t erm melt ing range is
some t imes used t o describe t he phase change, and t hey go f rom a hard
solid t o a sof t solid and t hen t o a liquid. Most polymers do not have a
boiling point . They will usually decompose chemically bef ore t hey reach a
boiling point .
Lab Act ivit y- Const ruct ing an object f rom polymers.
Get st udent s t o t ake mat erials f rom t he supply t able t o t heir individual
work st at ions and build a model. Allow st udent s t o decide what t hey are
going t o build.
Some suggest ions would be a cast le or some ot her t ype of st ruct ure, a
model such as a car an airplane or a Christ mas ornament .

Asse ssme nt Example s:

Pre lab quest ions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Describe a polymer.
Name t hree t ypes of polymers.
Name several uses f or polymers
Where does t he word polymer come f rom?
How long have scient ist s been working wit h polymers?
6 . Why dont polymers have a boiling point ?

Post lab quest ions

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Describe your project

What kinds of mat erials did you work wit h?
Which mat erials worked well?
Which mat erials did not work well? Why?
What part of your project was t he easiest ?
What part was t he most dif f icult ?
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material science teachers aide

Unit: Properties of Matter

Subject: Polymers
Grade Level: 5 8
Key topics: Polymer, Monomer,
Recycling

7 . How did you overcome t his dif f icult y?

Locat ing Mat e rials

Mat erials can be f ound in local hardware, of f ice supply st ores and discount
st ores. St udent s may also be willing t o bring a variet y of polymers t o
class.
Consider giving ext ra credit point s t o st udent s who volunt eer t o bring
in polymers t o be used in t he lesson.

Background Inf ormat ion

At oms are t he smallest divisible part icle in nat ure. They are t he basic unit
of st ruct ure of t he element s. There are approximat ely 1 0 0 dif f erent
t ypes of at oms in t he known universe which by combining in dif f erent
ways make up everyt hing. Two ways t hat at oms combine t oget her are
cryst alline and amorphous which simply means ordered and disordered
respect ively. These dif f erences in arrangement of t he at oms t hat make
up t he bulk mat erial lend many of t he mat erials propert ies. The
dif f erence bet ween a ringing cryst al champagne f lut e and t he glass sit t ing
next t o it has t o do wit h t he order of t he at oms. ( This might be
somewhat conf using bot h of t hese object s are amorphous) Some ot her
propert ies of mat erials t hat are af f ect ed by cryst alline or amorphous
arrangement of at oms are: opt ical ( opaque, t ransparent , ref lect ive, et c.) ,
mechanical ( duct ilit y, malleabilit y, brit t leness, hardness, st rengt h) ,
elect rical ( good or poor conduct or) , and t hermal ( good or poor
conduct or) .
Polymers are made of covalent ly bonded st rings of at oms; t hese at om
chains or st rings are mixed in a very disordered or amorphous way. While
t he bonds bet ween t he at oms wit hin t he polymer chain are st rong, t ight
bonds t he bonds bet weens t he polymer chains t end t o be t he loosest or
weakest bonds, known as van der Waals or hydrogen bonding. Because
t he majorit y of t he polymer is made of t hese really long chains t he bonds
t hat we int eract wit h on a macroscopic level are t he van der Waals bonds,
which is why polymers have t heir propert ies of pliancy ( plast icit y) ,
sof t ness and low st rengt h. When t he polymer is st ret ched, t he chains
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material science teachers aide

Unit: Properties of Matter

Subject: Polymers
Grade Level: 5 8
Key topics: Polymer, Monomer,
Recycling

t end t o line up along t he direct ion t hat t hey are pulled, which is why t he
plast ic bag t urns whit e. The chains are lining up in a cryst al-like manner
which causes t he bag t o become less t ransparent .
For addit ional websit es, Google polymers.

Re f e re nce s
Allcock, Harry R and ot hers Cont emporary Polymer Chemist ry, Pearson
Educat ion 3 rd edit ion ( 2 0 0 3 )
Cowie, J.M.G. Chemist ry and Physics of Modern Mat erials, Chapman and
Hall, 2 nd edit ion ( 1 9 9 1 )
Wright , David C. Environment al St ress Cracking of Plast ics, RAPRA ( 2 0 0 1 )

Acknowle dge me nt
The aut hor would like t o acknowledge his f riends and colleagues, Tom
Glascow and Roger Crider f or t heir input int o t he development of t his
module. The module was developed by t he ASM Foundat ion K-1 2
commit t ee' s Middle School Task Force wit h input f rom t eachers and st af f
and edit ing assist ance f rom Pet er Kazarinof f , all of whose cont ribut ions
are acknowledged wit h t hanks.
Copyright ASM International 2010; Permission is granted for
free use by instructors for educational purposes.

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