Chemistry In Our Lives Flashcards
Synthetic materials
Artificial or manmade
Natural materials
Wool, water, silk, crude oil, cotton and fur
Examples of synthetic
nylon(tights),acrylic(yarn), polyester(shirts)polythene(plastic bags), glass, terylene(crease free clothes), melamine(plastic)
Plastics are made from
Crude oil
Fossil fuels
Are formed from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions years ago e.g coal and gas
Hydrocarbons
All fossil fuels are made mainly of the elements hydrogen and carbon and so are called hydrocarbon
Methane
Natural gas (CH4)small four at the bottom
Fossil fuels produce
Water and carbon dioxide when burned
The gas sulfur dioxide is released
On burning of some fossil fuels which contain sulfur compounds
Acid rain
Sulfur dioxide combines with rainwater to form sulfuric acid causing acid rain
Acid rain harm
Kills fish, harms plants and erodes limestone buildings
Fuel
A substance that burns in oxygen to produce heat
Fire triangle
For a fire to happen you need fuel, heat and oxygen
A fire can be put out if you use water, sand or carbon dioxide
Properties of plastic
Easily moulded into different shapes Durable Waterproof Soft or hard plastics are available Easy to clean Lightweight Insulators that won't conduct electricity
Monomers
Plastics are made from chemicals called monomers, which are taken from crude oil
Polymers
The monomers react together to make long chains of molecules called polymers which then behave like plastics
Non-biodegradable
Plastics are non-biodegradable (cannot be broken down by living things such as bacteria and fungi in the soil)
Advantages of synthetic material
They are often lighter, cheaper, easy to look after
Disadvantages of synthetic materials
Non biodegradable
If we reuse or recycle our plastics then this disadvantage can be overcome
Polymerisation
Small repeating units called monomers join together to form a large molecule called a polymer
Plastics
Polythene -plastic bags, plastic lunch box, bottle Nylon tights,carpets, Rigid PVC- Flexible PVC Polystyrene Expanded polstyrene
Rubber
Naturally occurring plastic
