IAPS Chemistry of Materials: Activity 12 “Evaluating Materials”
Key Words: Material, Materials Scientist, Materials Engineer
Getting Started:
1.
Which of the three materials – aluminum, glass, or plastic – would make the best drink container?
Explain.
Aluminum Glass Plastic
2. Read the Introduction and Challenge to Activity 12, “Evaluating Materials,” in your Student Book on page B-4.
3. Copy today’s date and the challenge question into your science notebook.
4. What are some of the properties that make the material you chose the best choice?
5. Read over the Procedure Steps, page B-5.
Step 1
 Use Table 1 provided by your teacher to record the advantages and disadvantages of each of the three materials.
 Give the table an appropriate, descriptive title.
Step 2
 List the properties of each of the three materials
 Decide whether each property is an advantage or disadvantage if you are using the material to make a drink container.
 Record in Table 1 your decision from Step 2a.
Step 3
 Spread the 21 Material Data Cards out on a table, and read the information on each card.
Step 4
 Sort the cards into categories for comparing the three materials.
Step 5
 Create a title that describes each category of sorted cards. o An example of a category title might be Percent Recycled.
Step 6
 Decide if the information on each card is an advantage or a disadvantage of the material it describes.
 Record these advantages and disadvantages in your Table 1.
Step 7
 Find the three cards that relate to “Percent Recycled.” o Prepare a bar graph comparing the three materials in this category. o Be sure to label the axes and title your graph.

Follow-Up:
1. Think about the information you gathered from the cards. Does this information change your mind about which material you think should be used to make the new drink container?
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Material Data Cards
Card 1
The approximate cost of a 12-ounce aluminum can is $0.07.
Card 4
A ton of aluminum can be used to produce approximately 56,000 cans.
Card 2
Making one ton of aluminum requires:
 8,000pounds of bauxite ore
 1,000 pounds of sodium hydroxide
 41.1 million kilocalories of energy
Card 5
Aluminum cans make up 0.7% of the solid waste in the United States (by weight).
Card 3
A ton of aluminum produced from raw
 materials creates:
2,000-4,000 pounds of “red mud,” solid waste that is highly corrosive
 70-220 pounds of additional solid wastes
Card 6
Aluminum can be recycled again and again, but there is a 2-4% loss of material each time the aluminum is recycled.
Card 7
About 55% of the 1,540,000 tons of aluminum cans that Americans use in a year is recycled.
Card 10
The approximate cost of a 12-ounce plastic bottle is $0.08.
Card 8
Glass can be recycled again and again.
Card 11
Plastic drink bottles make up about
0.4% of the solid waste in the United
States (by weight).
Card 9
Making one ton of glass requires:

 1,330 pounds of sand
433 pounds of soda ash
 433 pounds of limestone

 151 pounds of feldspar
1.8 million kilocalories of energy
Card 12
About 29% of the 5,450,000 tons of glass containers that Americans use in a year is recycled.
Card 13
Making a ton of plastic from raw materials creates 62-92 pounds of pollutants.
Card 14
A ton of glass can be used to produce approximately 9,000 bottles.
Card 15
Glass bottles make up about 2.4% of the solid waste in the United States
(by weight).
Card 16
About 40% of the 5 million tons of plastic soft drink bottles that
Americans use in a year is recycled.
Card 17
A ton of plastic can be used to produce approximately 32,000 bottles.
Card 18
A ton of glass produced from raw materials creates:
 384 pounds of solid waste
 8 pounds of air pollutants
Card 19
The approximate cost of a 12-ounce glass bottle is $0.10.
Card 20
Making one ton of plastic requires:
 4,520 pounds of crude oil
 4,375 gallons of water
 26.5 million kilocalories of energy
Card 21
Most plastics cannot be recycled for the same use. Plastic bottles, for example, cannot be used to make new bottles, but they can be recycled into sleeping bag filing or plastic lumber.