Polymers R Us Week 4: Designing Polymers

During week 4, your group will work with the other group(s) in your partner group to complete Assignment 9 and Assignment 10. Finally, each individual will evaluate the project in Assignment 11.

1. Density and percent crystallinity results

2. Assignment 10: Designing polymers

3. Assignment 11: Post-project questionnaire

Density and Percent Crystallinity Results

Assignment 10: Designing polymers

Deadline: 5:00 PM, Wednesday of Week 4 and 5:00 PM, Saturday of Week 4

Now that you have a better understanding of polymer morphology and properties, you are ready to apply what you have learned! You will work with the groups in your partner group to choose an appropriate polymer (or design a polymer) for each of the following applications.

Applications:

1. Basketball backboard

The backboard should be clear and inflexible (it shouldn't droop or bend). It must be strong but brittle so that it will break under severe stress. The polymer must be able to be melted or cast several times.

2. An athletic shoe sole.

The polymer must be able to be cast yet be elastic when molded.

3. Housing for electronics

Housing for computers, telephones, and other electronics.

4. Shrink-wrap

The shrink-wrap for cases of cans and containers of foods must be easily opened without a knife, such as by pulling a notch cut into the plastic.

5. Condoms or similar devices

6. Kitchen spatulas for use with non-stick cookware

7. A shatter-proof jelly jar

Jelly must be packed into jars while hot.

8. Dishwasher-safe food containers

9. Ultra-light eyeglass lenses

For each application you should:

1. Determine the properties the polymer must have for the particular application. For example, does the polymer need to be strong, rigid, tear resistant, easy to tear, elastic, heat resistant, etc.? (Some of the properties are given to help you out.)

2. Using what you have learned about polymer structure/morphology and corresponding mechanical properties, choose an appropriate polymer for each application. You could choose a polymer that you have learned about in this project or design a polymer that would have the desired properties. Justify your choice of polymer(s) for the application. Also, what are the corresponding monomers?

3. Do some research to determine what polymers are actually used for each application. You can start by checking out the polymer links on the Polymer Resource pages such as the Macrogalleria site. Be sure to cite all references you use in your report.

Each group should post the required properties and ideas for appropriate polymers for each application on the discussion board by 5:00 PM Wednesday of Week 4. Discuss the responses with the other group(s) in your partner group and decide how you will divide up the research work for this project. Working together with the other group(s) in your partner group, post a report to the discussion board by 5:00 PM Saturday of Week 4. You may want to schedule a chat session with the other group(s) to coordinate the research work and discuss ideas. You can access the chat room on the PCOL home page.

Assignment 11: Post-project questionnaire

Deadline: 5:00 PM, Saturday of Week 4

IMPORTANT! To complete the project you must complete the post-project questionnaire. Your responses will be used to help make this project better in the future. You should use the same userID and password that you used on the pre-project questionnaire. The post-project questionnaire can be accessed at http://pcol.ch.iup.edu/evaluation/. After you have answered the questions, click on the submit button. Then, select and complete the Polymers R Us content questions.

The PCOL community acknowledges that partial support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education through grants DUE #9950809 and DUE #9950296. Additional support was provided by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. PCOL faculty also acknowledge the National Science Teachers Association which awarded the PCOL Faculty Consortium the 1998 Gustav Ohaus Award for Innovation in College Science Teaching.

This page was last updated on Mar. 8, 2001
llever@uscs.edu