Curated OER
Critter? Growth
Students identify and use the elements of the scientific inquiry to solve problems. They explain concepts about the structure and properties of matter. Pupils write an explanation of polymers and how the characteristic of polymers...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating Plastic Polymers: Building a Model
Learners will use their prior knowledge about changes of matter including physical and chemical changes from the Houghton Mifflin science curriculum. Students will create a hypothesis to test the physical properties of materials such as...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Carbohydrates
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] This activity covers the structure and function of carbohydrates. Students will learn about the different types of complex carbohydrates and how they are formed.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Proteins
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Students will learn about the structures and function of proteins and how we get protein in our diet.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Nucleic Acids
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Online activity covers the structure and function of nucleic acids. Students will learn about nucleotides, the different types of nitrogenous bases, and the...
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Forensic Science: Analysis of Hair, Fiber and Botanical Mtl
This comprehensive interactive tutorial explores forensic science, particularly within the area of hair analysis. Investigate the parts of a hair and how it grows. Learn how is hair evidence is collected and analyzed and what different...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Creepy Silly Putty
Students learn about viscoelastic material behavior, such as strain rate dependence and creep, by using silly putty, an easy-to-make polymer material. They learn how to make silly putty, observe its behavior with different strain rates,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Optimization of Slime
Using their knowledge of the phases of matter, the scientific method, and polymers, student teams work as if they are chemical engineers to optimize the formula for slime. Hired by the fictional company, Slime Productions, students are...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Bridging to Polymers: Thermoset Lab
Students act as engineers to learn about the strengths of various epoxy-amine mixtures, and observe the unique characteristics of different mixtures of epoxies and hardeners. Student groups make and optimize thermosets by combining two...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Everyday Polymers
Students explore the chemical identities of polymeric materials frequently used in their everyday lives. They learn how chemical composition affects the physical properties of the materials that they encounter and use frequently, as well...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Viscoelasticity
Students are introduced to the concept of viscoelasticity and some of the material behaviors of viscoelastic materials, including strain rate dependence, stress relaxation, creep, hysteresis and preconditioning. Viscoelastic material...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Surfactants: Helping Molecules Get Along
Students learn about the basics of molecules and how they interact with each other. They learn about the idea of polar and non-polar molecules and how they act with other fluids and surfaces. Students acquire a conceptual understanding...
American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society: Science for Kids: Characteristics of Materials
Engaging hands-on science lessons for grades 2-6 on the properties of different materials.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Let's Make Silly Putty
Students make two different formulations of imitation Silly Putty with varying degrees of cross-linking. They witness how changes in the degree of cross-linking influence the putty properties.
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: 3 M Young Scientist Lab: Sandwich Bag Dart Board
Sharp Pencils and water-filled sandwich bags demonstrate the nature of certain polymers.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: Courses: Polymer Science Laboratory
College-level chemical engineering course highlighting polymers. Course topics focus on the range of properties of polymers, methods of synthesis, and physical chemistry. Course features include a list of related readings and a large...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating Polymers: Comparing Two Liquid Glue Based Polymers
For this experiment, students will work in small groups to create two different polymers, similar to Flubber and Silly Putty, using Elmer's glue, liquid laundry starch, and Borax. They will then compare the properties of the two...
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Nylon
Wikipedia provides detailed information on nylon, a synthetic polymer. Includes nylon's uses, history, and products.
Society for Science and the Public
Science News for Students: The Memory of a Material
Describes the properties of a synthetic polymer, Nafion, which can 'remember' shapes that it takes, based on the temperature.
Other
Cha, Inc.: History of the Dupont's and Their Discovery
This site from CHA, Inc. gives a biographical background of the Dupont's and gives information on one of its greatest discoveries, nylon.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Chemistry: Materials
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Discussion of the design and production of new materials such as polymers and liquid crystals.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Physical Science: Carbon Monomers and Polymers
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Difference between a monomer and polymer and examples of natural and synthetic carbon polymers.
Concord Consortium
Concord Consortium: Molecular Workbench Showcase: Chemistry, States of Matter
See how gas, liquid, and solid molecules react to external pressure in this simulation. Also see a model of intermolecular motion through elliptical particles.
Science Struck
Science Struck: Ldpe Plastic
LDPE stands for low-density polyethylene. This resource describes its structure, physical and chemical properties, resistance to various chemicals, advantages and disadvantages, uses, its BPA-free status, and the issue of recycling LDPE...