Synthetic Materials from Nature
Aligned to MS-PS1-3 — Next Generation Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Synthetic materials like plastics and medicines are made by processing natural resources — often crude oil — through chemical reactions, and their use brings both benefits and costs to society.
Worked examples
Example 1
Plastic bottles are made from petroleum pumped out of the ground. Refining it into polyethylene gives cheap, lightweight containers, but that same durability means the plastic can pollute oceans for centuries.
Example 2
Nylon was made to replace silk, which came only from silkworms. A synthetic material often exists because the natural one was scarce or expensive.
Example 3
Synthetic does not mean bad and natural does not mean safe. Asbestos is a natural mineral and it causes cancer.
Practice questions
- Research one synthetic material and identify the natural resource it is made from.
- Model the path from a natural resource to a finished synthetic product with a flow diagram.
- Explain one benefit and one drawback of replacing a natural material with a synthetic one.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Materiales Sintéticos de la Naturaleza
Los materiales sintéticos como los plásticos y las medicinas se fabrican procesando recursos naturales — a menudo el petróleo crudo — mediante reacciones químicas, y su uso trae tanto beneficios como costos para la sociedad.
Ejemplo 1: Las botellas de plástico se fabrican a partir del petróleo extraído del suelo. Refinarlo en polietileno da envases baratos y ligeros, pero esa misma durabilidad hace que el plástico pueda contaminar los océanos durante siglos.
Ejemplo 2: El nailon se hizo para reemplazar la seda, que solo venía de gusanos. Un material sintético muchas veces existe porque el natural era escaso o caro.
Ejemplo 3: Sintético no significa malo y natural no significa seguro. El asbesto es un mineral natural y causa cáncer.
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