Turning Plastic Waste into Soap

What percentage of all plastic ever made ends up in landfills or littering the environment?

(a)  

• 10%
• 20%
• 40%
• 60%

What are surfactants?

• Key ingredients in detergents and soap

• Plastic waste materials

• Chemical compounds found in landfills

• Raw materials for ski wax

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-3

What are the two most used kinds of plastic?

• Polyethylene and polypropylene

• Polyester and polystyrene

• Polyvinyl chloride and polyurethane

• Polycarbonate and polyethylene terephthalate

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-3

What is the main difference between surfactants and plastics?

• Surfactants have shorter carbon chains and water-attracting atoms

• Surfactants are made of molecular chains of carbon atoms

• Plastics are made of molecular chains of carbon atoms

• Plastics have shorter carbon chains and water-attracting atoms

What is the process used to turn plastic into surfactants?

• Heating and condensing plastic into a wax with short carbon chains

• Treating plastic with an alkaline solution

• Combining plastic with dye and fragrance

• Melting plastic and molding it into soap bars

How much surfactant can be made at a time using the current process?

(a)  

• 1 gram
• 10 grams
• 100 grams
• Half a gram

What is the ultimate goal of the researchers?

• To make plastic waste a bit cleaner

• To eliminate plastic waste entirely

• To create a new type of plastic

• To find alternative uses for plastic waste

What is the potential application of upcycled plastic?

(a)  

• Lubricants
• Ski wax
• Detergents
• All of the above

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-3

What is the main focus of the article?

• The environmental impact of plastic waste

• The chemistry behind surfactants

• The future of plastic recycling

• The benefits of upcycled plastic

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-3

Who developed the process to turn plastic waste into surfactants?

(a)  

• Guoliang Liu
• Luis Melecio-Zambrano
• Zhen Xu
• Carolyn Wilke

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-1

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3

NGSS.HS-LS2-7