Page 104F: Properties and Changes – Physical and Chemical

Physical and Chemical Changes
Visit this site by the Utah State Office of Education to learn about physical and chemical changes of matter. A physical change involves a change in physical properties.

Chemistry 100: Physical vs. Chemical Changes and Properties
Go to this site to read about the differences between physical and chemical properties and changes.

Review and Practices on Chemical vs. Physical Properties and Changes
At this site by Blacksburg High School, Blacksburg, Virginia you can read a brief summary of chemical and physical properties and changes. Scroll down to see a practice test that you may want to adapt for your students.

The Physical Characteristics of Minerals
Go to this site to learn all about the physical properties of minerals. Scroll down to read the list of physical properties most useful for mineral identification.

The Chemical Properties of Minerals
At this site you can find out more about the chemical properties of minerals. Scroll down to read about hydrous minerals.

Hands On Plastics: Background Information for Students
Visit this site by the American Plastics Council to learn about the history of plastics and polymers and about the chemistry of the polymers that make up plastics. This is an excellent site for students to begin their exploration of plastics.

Chemical Sciences: Organic Chemistry: Synthetic Plastics
Go to this site for a brief discussion of the chemistry behind today’s plastics. Read about some of the chemicals used to produce polymers, the giant molecules that make up plastics.

Recycling Plastics – Is the Chemistry Right?
Visit this site to read about the chemistry of plastics and the ways different plastics can be treated so that they can be recycled or reused. Scroll down to feedstock recycling to find out how plastics can be turned into a gas.

Cleaning Up the Waste Stream – Recycling Plastics
Visit this site for a brief discussion of the difficulties inherent in recycling plastics. Scroll down to see a chart of the plastic container code system and a description of each type of plastic that can be recycled.

Recycling Plastics
Go to this site by Ecology Action to read about the code numbers used on the bottoms of plastic containers that identify how each container should be handled in the recycling process.

Buying and Recycling Plastics
Visit this Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection site to learn more about recycling of PET and HDPE plastics. Scroll down and click on plastics acronyms to see a descriptive list of other plastics and what they are used for.

Recycling Plastics is as easy as …1, 2, 3 (4, 5, 6, 7)!
Go to this New York State Department of Environmental Conservation site to see another list of the codes used to identify types of plastic for recycling. The site also describes two methods by which plastic containers are made – blow-molding and injection molding.

Recycling Plastics
At this Colorado School of Mines site you can read a brief discussion of how plastics are made, and about the chemistry of plastics. You can also read about the benefits of using plastic packaging here.ml

History of Plastics
Visit this site to learn more about the history of the plastics industry. The site discusses the inventions of materials such as celluloid, bakelite, rayon, cellophane, nylon, polyvinyl chloride, saran, teflon, and polyethylene.

The Mechanical Recycling Process
At this site you can take an interactive tour to see how the mechanical recycling process works. Scroll down and click on next to take the tour.