Both soft raincoats and hard door frames use PVC as their main components, yet they have very different textures. The video focuses on the use of plasticisers and hardeners to create the very different textures and uses for the same...

Vulcanization has nothing to do with Star Trek or the god of fire. The video explains the difference between thermosoftening and thermosetting polymers and the role of vulcanization to the process. It lists many products pupils are...

Small molecules can make a big impact! Pupils gain an understanding of the polymerization of ethane, a short and useful alkene. The narrator discusses the main ideas behind polymer science, including how chain length affects the...

So many layers, so many uses! Chemistry pupils discover the many uses of the molecules separated from crude oil during the process of fractional distillation. The animated video covers such materials as plastic, kerosene, and diesel....

Nature has the ultimate recycling program — the Carbon Cycle! How do fossil fuels fit into this program? Pupils answer this question as they observe how all this added carbon serves to unbalance the cycle. Using the perspective of "new"...

Waste not, want not! Pupils learn how plant-based products are making a dent in the volume of solid waste placed in landfills each year in part 10 of a 12-part series discussing the principles of green chemistry. The video includes...

Humans have produced more than 8,000 synthetic chemicals, and we don't know the long-term effects on our bodies for most of them. A video highlights current scientific research to determine which are safe and how to modify those...

Metallic glasses are shiny and opaque, and they conduct heat and electricity like metals. They have a lot of characteristics that make them special and unique to most metals. But, what are they made of? Watch this video to discover what...

Little learners will have fun playing with plastic if you do this activity with them. Have them write a message on Teflon tape, disguise it, and then pass it to a friend to decode. What they will find is that some polymers have an...

Watch the distillation process as a female narrator explains what is happening. Ideally you would demonstrate this process or have advanced classes work in lab groups to perform it themselves. If time is short or materials not available,...

Plastic bags are so useful and you can find out how they're made by watching this clip. We see inside the factory where plastic bags are made, learn what they are made of, and all the ways they can be used. Wow, 35,000 bags for every one...

Interactive video lesson discusses the distribution of electrons in a carbon atom, and then follows with a chemical investigation of plastics.

David de Rothschild and his boat, the Plastiki, sets sail across the Pacific. Find out how a boat made entirely of plastic hopes to rid the oceans of the stuff. [2:46]

See what makes this plastic film shrink. [0:29]