Plastic is fantastic! But, why does it behave the way it does? Science sleuths investigate the behavior of plastic in response to applied forces using an interactive. The resource allows users to bend a sample of plastic using three different levels of force, then observe how the polymer chains react.

Concepts

plastic, force, polymers, properties of matter

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Ask pupils to choose one polymer chain and record their observations of it throughout the simulation
• Have the class compare the behavior of plastics in response to forces with those of tire rubber in an additional resource, located here
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Classroom Considerations

• Students should have prior knowledge of polymer structure to use the interactive

Pros

• The plastic model reacts very realistically to changes in force
• Different shading on polymer chains helps users better examine the effects of force
  

Cons

• None