Polymer Technology

Unit 6

Polymer Technology

Name ______Block ______Teacher ______

Unit Theme:

9.6 - Chemical technologies present both risks and benefits to the health and well-being of humans, plants and animals.

D 16. Explain how simple chemical monomers can be combined to create linear, branched and/or cross-linked polymers.

Essential questions:

· How do we break down large hydrocarbons into usable monomers?

· What are the advantages and disadvantages of this process?

Do Now: Write a paragraph (5-8 sentences) on one way plastic has benefited your life. Choose ONE plastic product to describe. Discuss why having that product made of plastic is more advantageous than having it made of any other product.

Product: ______

______

Fractional Distillation

Because the various components of crude oil have different boiling temperatures, they can be separated easily by a process calledfractional distillation. The steps of fractional distillation are as follows:

1. Youheatthe crude oil to a high temperature (about 1112 degrees Fahrenheit / 600 degrees Celsius).

2. The mixtureboils, forming vapor (gases); most substances go into the vapor phase.

3. Thevaporenters the bottom of a long column (fractional distillation column) that is filled with trays.

· The trays have many holes or bubble caps (like a loosened cap on a soda bottle) in them to allow the vapor to pass through.

· They increase the contact time between the vapor and the liquids in the column

· They help to collect liquids that form at various heights in the column.

· There is a temperature difference across the column (hot at the bottom, cool at the top).

4. Thevapor risesin the column.

5. As the vapor rises through the trays in the column, itcools.

6. When a substance in the vapor reaches a height where the temperature of the column is equal to that substance's boiling point, it willcondenseto form a liquid. (The substance with the lowest boiling point will condense at the highest point in the column; substances with higher boiling points will condense lower in the column.).

7. The trayscollectthe various liquid fractions.

Source- http://www.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining.htm

Cracking heavy hydrocarbons into lighter hydrocarbons

D 17. Explain how the chemical structure of polymers affects their physical properties.

Essential Questions:

· How do different molecular structures of polymers affect the physical properties of the products made?

· How can we design an experiment that will test different physical properties of polymers?

Synthetic Polymer Physical Properties Investigation

CAPT Embedded Task

Polymers are large molecules consisting of chains of small molecules called monomers joined together in a repeating pattern. In the early 1900s, scientists began to understand the chemical makeup of natural polymers and how to make synthetic polymers with properties that complement those of natural materials. One simple synthetic polymer chemists developed is polyethylene. They developed it by repeating units of the monomer ethylene (H2C=CH2). Polyethylene is a very large, zigzag-shaped molecule. One small part of a polyethylene chain is shown below.

-(CH2- CH2)-n

Chemists and engineers have learned to process and modify molecules of polyethylene in different ways to manufacture common household products with a variety of characteristics. Polyethylene is used to make plastic trash bags, dry cleaning bags, milk jugs and soda bottles. In industry, materials made from polyethylene are tested for what are called “stress-strain behaviors.” Stress-strain behaviors include:

tensile strength - the amount of pulling force placed upon a material before it breaks

abrasion resistance - toughness of material against scraping, scuffing or scarring

puncture resistance - ability of a material to keep moving objects from perforating the surface

Your Task

You and your lab partner will design an experiment that investigates a stress-strain behavior among various plastic products made of the synthetic polymer polyethylene. You have been provided with the following materials and equipment. It may not be necessary to use all of the equipment that has been provided.

Suggested materials:

Plastic milk jug coffee can

plastic kitchen wrap rubber bands

plastic sandwich bag ring stands/ or clamps

plastic grocery bag ruler

ball bearings safety goggles

scissors markers

Designing and Conducting Your Experiment

1. In your own words, state the problem you are going to investigate. Write a hypothesis using an “If … then … because …” statement that describes what you expect to find and why. Include a clear identification of the independent and dependent variables that will be studied.

· Problem Statement: ______

______

· Hypothesis:______

· ______

· Independent Variable: ______

· Dependant Variable: ______

2. Design an experiment to solve the problem. Your experimental design should match the statement of the problem and should be clearly described so that someone else could easily replicate your experiment. Include a control if appropriate and state which variables need to be held constant.

Procedures: Constants:

Control:

Diagram:

3. Review your design with your teacher before you begin your experiment.

4. Conduct your experiment. While conducting your experiment, take notes on the next page and organize your data into tables. Safety note: Students must wear approved safety goggles and follow all safety instructions.

When you have finished, your teacher will give you instructions for cleanup procedures, including proper disposal of all materials.

______

Communicating Your Findings

Working on your own, summarize your investigation in a laboratory report. For this write up you should follow the school’s ninth grade Formal Lab Report Guidelines (see next page for reference).

Formal Lab Report Guidelines- NHHS Grade 9

(Scoring out of 100 points)

Title Page: Name, Date, Period (ie. A4, B2, ect)

1. Problem: How does the IV affect the DV? (1 sentence) (5 pts)

2. Hypothesis: Predict the outcome of the experiment. Use the following format: If (IV)…then (DV) {no BECAUSE should be included}. (5 pts)

3. Procedures: Provide a detailed, numbered, step-by-step set of instructions needed for completing the experiment. This should be written so that a person who was not part of the planning process could complete the same identical experiment. (10 pts)

4. Diagram: Illustrate in color and label the setup and design…no picture dictionary. (5 pts)

5. Experimental Design: (10 pts)

Independent Variable- Part of the experiment that “I” changed.
Dependent Variable- Part of the experiment that changed because of the “IV”. What is being measured or observed during the experiment.
Constants- Parts of the experiment that stay the same.
Control – What you are comparing your results to. State no control if necessary.

6. Observations and Data: When needed, the following should be included: (25 pts)

· Qualitative Observations: describe what is observed during the experiment (using the 5 senses).

· Quantitative Observations: construct a properly labeled data table from the collection of measurements and numbers.

· Graph: construct a properly labeled graph from the collection of measurements and numbers.

7. Conclusion with discussion: In paragraph form, explain what you have learned as a result of doing the laboratory experiment. This should be the longest part of the lab report. It should be written in complete sentences and each paragraph should include the specific information below. (40 points)

Paragraph 1:

a. Restate the Hypothesis:

b. Evaluate your Hypothesis: was it supported or refuted? (1 sentence)

c. Answer the problem question: (1 sentence)

Paragraph 2:

d. Data Analysis/ Discuss the results: summarize the data table by using averages. Include any unusual data. Explain your results based on what you have learned in class.

Paragraph 3:

e. Error Analysis: tell if there were any known errors made during the experiment. If there were none that you know of then indicate this. Also tell where errors could happen.

Paragraph 4:

f. Evaluation: Identify ways that the experiment can be improved. Also, write two, but related problems that you would like to investigate.

Do Now:

Lab Discussion:

What kind of polymers did we examine? What did we see?

D INQ. 2 Read, interpret and examine the credibility and validity of scientific claims in different sources of information.

Essential Questions:

· How can we determine the reliability of different web sources?

Assessing Credibility

CAPT Embedded Task

One of the most important factors in researching an issue online is evaluating the credibility of the source of information. Anyone may publish their work online but not everyone who publishes information is interested in providing data-driven, unbiased and balanced information to the reader. Some sources online are interested in promoting a product or an industry. Other sources try to sway opinions without any credible facts to back up their views.

Imagine that you are trying to evaluate the risks versus benefits of using plastic products. During your research you find many sites and articles. How will you assess their credibility? In this exercise, you will evaluate the credibility of four sources of information by filling out the template on the following page. Use the following article to help you assess credibility. Document your evidence as to the kind of site, authority of the author, the point of view of the author/site, date of publication, and any other information that is important in the evaluation of the reliability of the site. To make this assignment more interesting, try to find at least one article that is heavily slanted by the authors to encourage their point of view, at least one article that seems to neutrally report plastic news about plastics to the common person, and at one article that is a scientific report.

Step 1. Read the article on the next three pages. Highlight important information or questions you will need to ask in assessing credibility.

Step 2. Locate an article about risks and benefits of plastic on the web.

What words will you use to search?

______

Several Suggested websites:

http://www.plastics.com/ This website is full of links to articles on the web that relate what’s happening with plastics today and society.

http://www.plasticsindustry.com/plastics-benefits.asp A website about plastic’s benefits

Step 3. Read the article and make sure it fits the assignment. Is it about a risk or benefit of plastic?

Step 4. Fill out one line of the chart on the page following the article entitled “Criteria to Evaluate the Credibility of WWW Resources.”

Step 5. Repeat for three more articles.

Article taken from http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/web-eval-sites.htm
Criteria to Evaluate the Credibility of WWW Resources

Anyone, in theory, can publish on the Web; therefore, it is imperative for users of the Web to develop a critical eye to evaluate the credibility of Internet information. Searching for sources on the WWW involves using a search engine, a directory, or some combination of these two. Because there is so much information on the Web, good and bad, finding what you want is not an exact science and can be time consuming. According to Nicholas C. Burbules, "....the Web is not an ordinary reference system; it poses some unique and, in many respects, unprecedented conditions that complicate the task of sorting out dependable from undependable information--and even complicates the notion that we have a clear sense of that distinction. How to differentiate credible from fraudulent information is not a new problem, but unraveling these in the context of a vast rapidly changing networked system is" (Paradoxes of the Web: The Ethical Dimensions of Credibility, Library Trends, Wntr 2001 v49 i3 p441, Introduction).
Developing a keen sense of the credibility of sources, based on such clues as connection of author to the subject, audience, source of publication, and documentation of supporting evidence, can also help you evaluate print and other types of sources. Though many search engines rank material according to their idea of what is relevant, that doesn't mean the material is relevant to want you want or is reliable. These guidelines are to help you become familiar with various types of Web resources and the reliability of the information.
1. Is there any evidence that the author of the Web information has some authority in the field about which she or he is providing information? What are the author's qualifications, credentials and connections to the subject?
2. With what organization or institution is the author associated? Is there a link to the sponsoring organization, a contact number and/or address or e-mail contact? A link to an association does not necessarily mean that the organization approved the content.
3. Does the author have publications in peer reviewed (scholarly and professional) publications, on the Web or in hard copy? (If an author does not have peer reviewed articles published, this does not mean that she or he does not have credible information, only that there has been no professional "test" of the author's authority on that subject.)
4. Are there clues that the author/s are biased? For example, is he/she selling or promoting a product? Is the author taking a personal stand on a social/political issue or is the author being objective ? Bias is not necessarily "bad," but the connections should be clear.
5.Is the Web information current? If there are a number of out-of-date links that do not work or old news, what does this say about the credibility of the information?
6.Does the information have a complete list of works cited, which reference credible, authoritative sources? If the information is not backed up with sources, what is the author's relationship to the subject to be able to give an "expert" opinion?
7.Can the subject you are researching be fully covered with WWW sources or should print sources provide balance? Much scholarly research is still only available in traditional print form. It is safe to assume that if you have limited background in a topic and have a limited amount of time to do your research, you may not be able to get the most representative material on the subject. So be wary of making unsupportable conclusions based on a narrow range of sources.
8.On what kind of Web site does the information appear? The site can give you clues about the credibility of the source.