1 introducing
Plastics play an increasingly important role in our daily lives, helping
save lives in medical applications and protecting our families in
packaging and safety applications.
The use of plastics is increasing all
the time, as they continue to replace
other traditional materials. There are
also new roles which only plastics
can fulfil.
The car is a good example of how
plastics are being used extensively.
Over the last 20 years, the use of
plastics in cars has increased by 114
per cent. Estimates suggest that
without plastics, today’s cars would be
at least 200kg heavier. Weight savings
achieved through the use of plastics
have enabled parts, such as the
chassis and drive shaft, to become
lighter. It is estimated that over the
average life-span of a car of
150 000km, this lightweighting has
contributed to a reduction in fuel
consumption of around 750 litres. In
turn, this reduces oil consumption by
approximately 1 million tonnes and
CO2 by many thousands of tonnes per
ACTIVITY 2
1 This picture shows a
typical modern car. Which
parts are made of plastics
materials? What advantages
do you think plastics have to
offer? Think of:
safety
economy
style
colour
cost
ACTIVITY 1
1 Think of at least three objects which, a few
years ago, would have been
made of other materials and
which are now commonly
made of plastics.
2 For each object you listed, provide the
advantages of the plastic over the other
material. Give reasons why you
believe plastics are now used.
annum. or synthetic.
But what are plastics? Why are Natural polymers are common in
they so useful and so widespread? animals and plants. Much living
Why do they behave as they do? tissue is based on polymers – for
What is their chemical structure? example, proteins in animals and
Many materials we use every carbohydrates in plants. A lot of our
day are made of polymers. These are food is based on polymers – for
large, long molecules constructed of example, fibre, grain and meat.
smaller, shorter molecules called Plants and animals also produce non-
monomers. Polymers can be natural living materials based on polymers.
This diagram shows the structure of
a monomer and a polymer.
2 It is estimated that a
1000kg car, containing 100kg monomer
of plastics, would use 4% less
fuel than a car made of more
traditional materials. If a car
uses 2000 litres of fuel each
year, costing 70 cents per litre,
how much money is saved polymer
through the use of
plastics?

ACTIVITY 3
1 Look at these pictures of objects made
from synthetic polymers. Try to decide
whether the polymer is a solid plastic
material or a fibre.
Whether a plastic is a solid material or
whether it is a thread-like fibre depends
only on how it has been produced. From
now on, the word plastics will be used to
describe all such materials.
These are usually produced as fibres
and then have to be processed to
produce materials such as threads
and fabrics.
Synthetic polymers are made
mainly from petroleum. This is
processed in an oil refinery to
produce basic chemicals known as
monomers. The monomers are then
turned into polymers. Some
polymers are turned into a solid
plastic material, and others into
textile fibres. Some can be turned
into either, depending on how they
are processed.
of plastics
The history
Today, it is clear that plastics are now
an integral part of our lives. From the
packaged products we purchase, the
transport we use and the buildings
we live and work in, to the sports
equipment we use and the advanced
medical technology employed to
keep us fit and healthy, plastics have
become indispensable.
Plastic products were first made
in 1862 from plant materials.
Cellulose fibres in the form of cotton
wool were treated with nitric acid to
form cellulose nitrate (‘Celluloid’),
which was used to make objects such
as ornaments, knife handles, boxes,
cuffs, collars and film for movies.
http://www.plastics.ca/teachers
In 1909 a new source of raw
material was found – coal tar. This
provided the ‘Bakelite’ plastics, used
for electrical insulation and the cases
for cameras, early radios and even
jewellery.
The manufacturing of plastics from
chemicals produced from petroleum
began in the 1930’s. Polystyrene,
acrylic polymers, and vinyl were
produced, although their use grew
slowly. Nylon was discovered in 1928,
and entered production in the late
1930’s. It was produced as long
filaments which could be spun and
woven or knit. The production and
ACTIVITY 4
1 Describe the shape of this graph.
2 Why do you think the graph changes shape
so much during the 1950’s?
3 What happened in the early 1970’s to make
the graph change direction so sharply?
4 Extend the graph to the year 2010. What does
this suggest the level of production will be?
The growth in the production of plastics across
the world (tonnes m)
1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
manufacture of other plastics materials
– low density polyethylene,
polyurethane, vinyl, PTFE, polyesters,
silicones, epoxy resins– grew during
the 1940’s. Polycarbonates were added
in the 1950’s. Polypropylene and high
density polyethelene (HDPE) were
added in the 1960’s.
The1970’s saw the arrival of the
‘third generation’, high-tech,
performance plastics which built on
previous developments. These
included new polyamides and
polyacetals. Innovation continued
throughout the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, with
new polymers being created to meet
specific design challenges. For
example, a new generation of
metallocene catalysts allow much
tougher and more transparent
polyethylene films to be made, while
using even less raw materials.
Today, more than 700 types of
plastic are produced which fall into
18 main polymer families. Readily
available, versatile and economic to
manufacture, plastics are used to
produce both hi-tech and everyday
objects.
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10