A very big
THANK YOU !
to Mr Heath for coming to see us at The Falcons School for Girls today. We hope that you enjoyed teaching us as much as we enjoyed learning from you!
We have all learnt about:
What are plastics?
They are synthetic materials which are made in factories. There are many types of plastics such as acrylic, teflon and nylon.
Where do plastics come from?
Plastics are made from crude oil. The oil is separated into many different substances, such as petrol, jet fuel and gases. Some of these gases are used to make plastics. The gases a known as monomers, with simple single molecules. When heated under pressure in the presence of oxygen, they become polymers, long chains.
How are objects made from plastics?
Plastics are moulded into the shape of the objects by many processes. Mr Heath showed us exapmles of injection moulding where pellets are forced into a machine which has a very expensive tool in it. The tool is the mould which lets the heated pellets form the shape of the object.
What is the future for plastics?
We can only make new plastics until the crude oil runs out. The crude oil is a FINITE resource which means that in about 40 years it WILL run out. We must try and recycle and reuse plastics. Unfortunately plastics do not rot away. They take over a hundred years to decompose naturally. If they are burnt they release toxic fumes, so its best to recycle and reuse.
Look out for the recycling symbol which tells the recycling people the name of the plastic and how to dispose of it.
You can see the actual presentation by clicking on the Plastics page at the top. Remember to use your password!
Farida Mannan
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