Is it necessary to replace synthetic materials with natural materials?If so why?
Answers
Answer:
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Lesson 6.12
Natural Resources & Synthetic Materials
NGSS Standard: MS-PS1-3
Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
Key Concepts
Synthetic materials are made from natural resources.
Synthetic materials are made by chemically changing the starting substances to create a material with different characteristics.
Some examples of synthetic materials are plastics, medicines, and new fuels.
A synthetic substance may be chemically identical to a naturally-occurring substance or may be different.
Making and using synthetic materials have both positive and negative impacts on society.
Summary
The teacher models and describes the kinds of information students will be looking for in their research project on a synthetic product. This is done by using an example of a synthetic product that students make in the classroom: a gel worm (not for eating.) Students make it by combining a sodium alginate solution with a calcium chloride solution. The teacher uses this product to model answers to the three questions students need to answer in their research:
What natural resources are used to make the synthetic product?
What chemical processes are used to make the synthetic product?
What are the negative and positive impacts to society of making and using the synthetic product, compared to making and using a more natural product with a similar function?
Students choose or are assigned a synthetic product to research. They use library and internet resources to investigate the product to answer the three questions. Students apply their learning to make an advertisement, poster, short video, or article about their synthetic product.
Objective
Students will be able to find and analyze information to describe that chemical processes are used to convert natural resources into synthetic materials and products. They will also be able to give examples of how the production of synthetic products has impacts, both positive and negative, for society.
Answer:
If there is some reason you cannot get the compound from a natural source, it may be helpful to use a synthetic, yet identical, version. If harvesting the item from nature is too expensive or over-harvesting could damage the environment or destroy habitat, it might be better to synthesize the compound.