(The Dr Sbaglia polymer!)
Your task:
You are a high-powered advertising executive with an impressive knowledge of science. You have discovered a new plastic that will make you very rich – if you can sell it to the group of investors you have in front of you. Your sales pitch will need to include:
· What properties your polymer has and what they mean (choose from the list below)
· What your polymer can be used for (and how it relates to those properties)
· What a polymer actually is (remembering your investors are not scientists). You will need to come up with an analogy for what a polymer is and how it is related to a monomer (check page 24 of Science Quest 3 for an example, but you can’t use this!)
· Whether your polymer is a thermosetting polymer or a thermoplastic polymer and how that relates to its properties
· The structure of the polymer and how that relates to its properties (you may want to mention cross-linking here!)
You will need to have two parts to your presentation – something you can hand in and something you can present to the class. The thing you hand in is to be your own work and could be:
· A booklet
· A poster
· A multi-media file (PowerPoint, Webpage or anything else – as long as it is not submitted on a floppy disk!)
· A physical model (with some accompanying writing)
· Anything else you would like to do (check with me first please!)
The presentation can be in any form you like and can be in collaboration with other people. This might take the form of a group of students from the same investment company. It should cover material listed above and be about five minutes long.
This assessment piece will test your science, your communication skills and your thinking skills. The rubric tells you which part assesses which, using the following code:
Science Communicating Thinking
Some properties you might include in your material could be (pick five)…
q hard
q soft
q durable
q disposable
q flexible
q recyclable
q transparent
q translucent
q opaque
q heat resistant
q cold resistant
q UV resistant*
q chemical resistant
q chemically inert*
q coloured
q feels/looks like a material
q a fibre or
q a plastic
*won’t deteriorate in sunlight **won’t ‘leak’ chemicals out
A / B / C / D / EPolymer Properties
/ J More than five properties included
J Accurate scientific explanation of properties / B Five properties included
B Accurate explanation of properties / C Four or more properties included
C Attempted explanation of properties / K Three or more properties included
K Little/no explanation of properties / L No properties listed
Property Uses
/ J More than five properties linked to use
J Strong scientific link between properties and use / B Five properties linked to use
B Strong link between properties and use / C Three or four properties linked to use
C Good attempt to link properties to use / K One or two properties linked to use
K Some link to use / L Properties not linked to uses
Polymer Definition
/ J Polymer defined as an infinite chain of monomers
J Monomers explicitly defined as identical
J Links between monomers defined as chemical bonds / B Polymer defined as a chain of monomers
B Monomers explicitly defined as identical / C Polymer defined as a chain of monomers / K Polymer defined as a chain / L No attempt at defining a polymer
Thermosetting and thermosetting properties
/ J Product correctly identified as thermosetting or thermoplastic
J Link made to three or more properties of thermoplastic or thermosetting polymer / B Product correctly identified as thermosetting or thermoplastic
B Link made to at least two properties of thermoplastic or thermosetting polymer / C Product correctly identified as thermosetting or thermoplastic
C Link made to at least one property of thermoplastic or thermosetting polymer / K Product correctly identified as thermosetting or thermoplastic / L Product not identified as thermosetting or thermoplastic
Crosslinking definition and relationship to properties
/ J Crosslinking or structure accurately shown
J Clear link to 2+ properties
J Properties explained in terms of movement of polymer chains / B Crosslinking or structure accurately shown
B Clear link to one property / C Crosslinking or structure shown
C Attempted link to properties / K Crosslinking or structure mentioned, but no link to properties / L No crosslinking or structure mentioned
Effectiveness of Communication
/ J Clear and concise written communication suited to the context
J Extensive effective use of diagrams and visual aids
J Communication suited to audience / B Clear and concise written communication
B Extensive effective use of diagrams and visual aids / C Effective written communication
C Effective use of diagrams and visual aids / K Some effort in written explanations
K Some effort in diagrams or visual aids / L Little/no effort in written explanations
L Little/no effort in diagrams or visual aids
Presentation
/ J Very well rehearsed
J Extensive effective use of diagrams and visual aids
J Communication suited to audience
J Presentation is interactive / B Well rehearsed
B Extensive effective use of diagrams and visual aids
B Communication suited to audience / C Good effort in presentation
C Effective use of diagrams or visual aids
C Some attempt to suit presentation to audience / K Some effort in presentation
K Poor use of visuals
K Not suited to investors / L Little/no effort in presentation
Creativity
/ J Analogy of polymer structure unique
J Analogy extended to crosslinking and related to properties / B Analogy of polymer structure unique
B Analogy extended to crosslinking / C Analogy of polymer structure unique / K Analogy of polymer structure taken from book / L Analogy of polymer structure absent