A hands-on activity about the properties of plastic was held in our chemistry lab on November 26th 2019.
The students had to test the density of different kinds of recyclable plastics by soaking samples in various liquids: water, ethyl alcohol, and seed oil. Depending on the material density and on the liquid density, some plastics keep floating while others just sink in the liquid.
The students, gathered in groups, tested all the six kinds of recyclable plastic: PETE, HDPE, PVC, LDPE, PP, PS, and filled a table that could be used as a sort of identity card for each kind of plastic. Then a game was played from each group trying to identify unknown samples of plastic.
Awareness that what we call “plastic” is indeed a variety of different materials was the real outcome of this activity.
