Polymer Basics

Polymer Basics     Name: Sinai Trapero

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

Site #1: Hands On 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, 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, phosphorus, 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 1891 by Bernigaut
Silly Putty - Developed in 1949 by Wright
Cellophane - Discovered in 1900 by Brandenberger
Parkesine - Discovered in 1862 by Parker
Nylon - Developed in 1939 by Carothers
Bakelite - Developed in 1907 by Baekeland
Velcro - Developed in 1957 by Maestral
Saran - Discovered in 1933 by Wiley
PVC (Vinyl) – Developed by Simon
Polyethylene – Developed in 1936 by Fawcett and Gibson
Teflon – Discovered in 1938 by Plunkett
Celluoid - Developed in 1869 by Hyatt



Plastics Timeline
Oldest to Most Recent
1 Parkesine
2 Celluloid
3 Rayon
4 Cellophane
5 Bakelite
6 Saran
7 Polyethylene
8 Teflon
9 Nylon
10 Silly Putty
11 Velcro

Site #3:  Polymers – They’re Everywhere

1. Click the “What are Polymers” link at the bottom of the screen and answer these questions. A. Polymers are tiny molecules strung in long repeating chains. B. What are three polymers found in our bodies? DNA, proteins,starches
2. Click the link for “In Nature” and use your mouse to find eight polymers in the picture. List them below.
Amber, silk, turtle’s shell, cow’s milk, animal horns, latex , lac, rosin
2. Click the “At Home” to learn about polymers that can be found around our homes. Use your mouse to find eight polymers and list them below.
Polyethylene, , neoprene, acrylics, rubber,Bakelite ,vulcanized rubber vinyl,polystyrene
3. Click the “Recycling” link and use your mouse to find eleven items made from recycled polymers in the park. For each item listed below, write down what it was used to make after being recycled. The number of blanks indicates the number of items for each polymer.
Peanut butter jar: Sweatshirt, Tote bag
Foam cup: Insulated jacket, Concrete
Bread bag: Trash can,Landscape Timber
Milk jug: Dog house, Picnic Table, Plastic Fence
Sandwich box: Playground equipment, flying disk (Frisbee)


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
B. What elements and how many of each is in one of these monomers?
C=Carbon 2 H=Hydrogen 4
C. What starts the process? Initiator


2. Click the link to try the matching games.  Record your times or scores in the blanks below.
A. Breakfast Game– 1st Try = 9491  2nd Try = 9351  3rd Try = 9801
B. Polymer Game - – 1st Try = 9266   2nd Try = 9213  3rd Try = 9426

Freezing And Melting Of Water


Question: What is the Freezing and Melting point of water?


Hypothesis:It freezes at 0.0 C and melts at 3.0 C.


Materials:
Computer                                 Vernier Computer Interface
400 mL Beaker                        Logger Pro
Water                                       Temperature Probe
Ice                                            Ring Stand
Salt                                           Test Tube
10 mL Graduated Cylinder           Stirring Rod


Procedure:
Please Gather The following
A ring stand, a 400mL beaker, ice cubes, salt(5 table spoons), A glass test tube, a Vernier temperature probe, a graduated cylinder. a stirring rod, a computer, and later some water. Put protective glasses on face. Take the Vernier Interface and plug the usb into the computer. Now that the ring stand and adjust it to a little bit taller then the 400 mL beaker. Now go fill 200 mL of water in the 400mL beaker. Bring it back and leave to obtain some ice. When you have the ice put it inside of the beaker. Now take the graduated cylinder and measure 5mL. Once this is done, pour it into the test tube. Take your temperature probe that you attached the computer and place it inside the test tube of water. Now apply the salt you gathered in the beginning. The salt will go inside the 400mL beaker. Stir with the rod and wait till the salt has completely dissolved with the water. Take the Test tube, Probe and place it in the water. Click collect on Logger Pro. Once you have clicked collect a red bar should start moving on the screen. Grab the very top of the test tube and begin stirring it in the water. If done correctly you should see the temperature gradually go down. Once you have stirred it for 10 minutes the computer should stop recording data. When this is done remove the frozen test tube and hold it up, by the ring stand. Do not let it touch any surface. Now that that is done, go dump out the water inside of the 400mL beaker, as well as the ice. Fill it with warm tap water. Now place it on the ring stand, click collect again, and watch the ice melt. Once it is done melting you may take it out and begin packing your things to go away neatly, as they once were.

Results:
Our ice was completely frozen at exactly -3.2 C and melted at 0.1 C. I think that we successfully did the assignment that was assigned to us. We managed to get good pictures of the test tube frozen. This test if executed correctly should work for everyone.

Chemistry Reflection
In the video Bill Nye: 100 greatest discoveries: Chemistry 1/3 Bill, The speaker, talked about 3 of the greatest discoveries that helped push man-kind in the direction of understanding chemistry and what makes us and the objects around us up. One of the greatest discoveries was of oxygen itself. It proved that there were gasses all around us. One that went along with this was the discovery that everything was not just a single atom, as thought before, but many molecules. This made it possible to believe that combining them was in the human race's grasp. But it was still nothing more then a possibility. Until a scientist left to chemicals out by accident and when the chemicals where pulled out they had formed crystals that were familiar to him. Both ingredients that created the crystals were inorganic, meaning they came from not living things. He studied the crystals and realized it was a substance that he had created, or found once before inside the kidney of animals. He was the first to show that it was possible to make organic material out of inorganic things. Another intelligent man created a chart that could be used to categorize the molecules and show what they could and could not combine with. He did this with all the molecules but one. Benzene. No one could figure out how to draw or the chemical structure of this Molecule. Until a man fell asleep thinking of a solution to this problem. He dreamed of a snake, eating his own tale. He awoke and figured it out. This molecule actually looped. Later it was confirmed.

Moving Man

PART A: DISTANCE and DISPLACEMENT

1. Making Observations about Distance:

A. What number and unit are written directly under the moving man? Number: 0 Unit: Meters

B. In the table below record the distances requested in meters: DISTANCE FROM Walking Man (reference point) to…. The House The Wall The tree

8 Meters 10 or -10 Meters -8 Meters

1. In the table below record the displacements requested in meters. Use “-“ and “+” to indicate direction from the reference point (Be sure to also include an amount and a unit.)

DISPLACEMENT FROM Walking Man (reference point) to…. The House The Wall The tree

+8 meters 2 meters -12 meters

What is the difference between an object’s DISTANCE and its DISPLACEMENT?

Distance is the how far an object has moved from a starting point. Displacement is how far out of place an object is. Therefore and objects may go a certain distance but come back to where they started therefore making it in no way out of place. If and object goes and does not come back to its original place that is its displacement.

PROCESSING THE DATA (Part A)

1. Describe the difference between the two lines on your graph made in Steps 4 and 5. Explain why the lines are different.

Answer: The lines were made different in the aspect that they first graph was for us to test the sensor and the second to test our skills to perceive if we can mimic something.

2. How would the graph change if you walked toward the Motion Detector rather than away from it? Test your answer.

Answer: It would spike lower due to the fact that moving away makes it rise. It did spike lower as predicted.

3. What did you have to do to match the graph you were given in Step 7?

Answer: We stopped for five seconds, walked backwards, stopped, walked backwards, and stopped once more.

PROCESSING THE DATA (Part B)

4. Describe the difference between the two lines on the graph made in Steps 10 and 11. Explain why the lines are different.

Answer: It was different because we had no control on matching the velocity. It was impossible to match in our opinion.

5. What is the definition of velocity?

Answer: Speed of motion, or action.

6. What did you have to do to match the graph you were given in Step 13? How well does your graph match the given graph?

Answer: We had to hold a constant speed to get a result close to what we were suppose to get.

PROCESSING THE DATA (Part C)

8. How does the acceleration vs. time graph differ from the other two graphs?

Answer: Acceleration differs in the fact that it doesn't matter where you are or what position you are in but how fast you are going.

9. What is acceleration?

Answer: Acceleration is the process of an object picking up speed as it travels over ground.

Graphing Your Motion

PROCESSING THE DATA (Part A)

1. Describe the difference between the two lines on your graph made in Steps 4 and 5. Explain why the lines are different.

Answer: The lines were made different in the aspect that they first graph was for us to test the sensor and the second to test our skills to perceive if we can mimic something.

2. How would the graph change if you walked toward the Motion Detector rather than away from it? Test your answer.

Answer: It would spike lower due to the fact that moving away makes it rise. It did spike lower as predicted.

3. What did you have to do to match the graph you were given in Step 7?

Answer: We stopped for five seconds, walked backwards, stopped, walked backwards, and stopped once more.

PROCESSING THE DATA (Part B)

4. Describe the difference between the two lines on the graph made in Steps 10 and 11. Explain why the lines are different.

Answer: It was different because we had no control on matching the velocity. It was impossible to match in our opinion.

5. What is the definition of velocity?

Answer: Speed of motion, or action.

6. What did you have to do to match the graph you were given in Step 13? How well does your graph match the given graph?

Answer: We had to hold a constant speed to get a result close to what we were suppose to get.

PROCESSING THE DATA (Part C)

8. How does the acceleration vs. time graph differ from the other two graphs?

Answer: Acceleration differs in the fact that it doesn't matter where you are or what position you are in but how fast you are going.

9. What is acceleration?

Answer: Acceleration is the process of an object picking up speed as it travels over ground.

Women's Brain Questions.

WOMEN'S BRAINS

by Stephen J. Gould in "The Panda's Thumb" 1980 (pp 152-159)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is the general point that Gould is presenting?

The point Gould is presenting is the size of a woman’s brain is less than that of a man’s, and if it has any correlation with height.

2. What is the general evidence on which that conclusion is based?

In general, women’s brains weighed less than men’s

3. What is the gender of all the researchers producing those data and conclusions?

All of the researchers were men.

4. What weaknesses or problems with those data and their interpretation does Gould point out?

Gould pointed out that women have smaller bodies, compared to men.

5. a) Name the one woman anthropologist mentioned who studied the subject of this essay. b) What did she find after proper correction of Broca's data? c) What were her conclusions from that finding?

a) Maria Montessori

b) She claimed women had slightly large brains than men.

c) Women were intellectually superior, but men had prevailed herefore by dint of physical force.

6. What conclusion does Gould reach about the central issue?

He believes Broca’s data is sound, but his interpretation of the matter was ill hearted.

7. Make a general statement about the role of bias and assumptions in the collecting, processing, and interpretation of data in scientific studies.

No one wants to be told they are worse than someone else or wrong. Our brains won’t let us push aside the jealousy.

8. What other kinds of bias can you think of that might influence observations and interpretations in science?

At the time, women were thought to be less superior to men. Also, as we’ve just seen sexism, racism could also be a huge problem. Which goes along with my statement, “No one wants to be told they’re worse than someone else, or wrong.”

9. Describe your initial feelings about the first 3 pages.

I felt at the time it was appropriate because Women were thought to surly be less superior to men

10. Describe your feeling after finishing the entire article.

It felt amazingly dumb that we were not past the point of thinking women were less superior than men.