Experiment: Identifying Plastics
Age: 14-16
Note: Teacher Guidance
Description:

In this classic experiment, from the Royal Society of Chemistry, students test the density of polymers in order to be able to identify them. Samples of different polymers are added to known solutions, and students examine whether they float or sink in each solution.

The resource is set out as teachers' notes followed by the students' page which presents the task to be investigated. A list of apparatus and chemicals needed for the investigation is provided, together with teaching tips. 

Curriculum links include: polymers, hydrocarbons, density, chain length