Natural or Synthetic
Cotton comes from a plant. Is cotton natural or synthetic?
Natural
What is a natural material?
A material that comes from nature.
Wool comes from what natural source?
Sheep
Why do scientists and engineers create synthetic materials?
To make materials with useful or desired properties.
A wooden pencil contains wood, graphite, paint, and other materials. Is every part of the pencil necessarily natural?
No
A plastic water bottle is natural or synthetic?
Synthetic
What is a synthetic material?
A human-made material produced by chemically changing natural resources/materials.
Cotton fabric begins with what natural resource?
Cotton plants
Give one property that could make plastic more useful than some natural materials.
Examples: lightweight, waterproof, durable, inexpensive, moldable.
Milk is used to make casein plastic. Which material is the natural starting material?
Milk/casein from milk
Which is natural: wood, polyester, nylon, or plastic?
Wood
What is a natural resource?
Something found in nature that people can use.
Many plastics begin with what natural resource?
Petroleum
Why might someone choose a polyester rain jacket instead of a cotton shirt in heavy rain?
Polyester can be designed to resist/repel water better than cotton.
If a material is made in a factory, does that automatically mean it is synthetic? Explain.
No. Natural materials can be processed or shaped in factories without necessarily becoming synthetic.
A student says, “Glass must be natural because it is made from sand.” Is glass considered natural or synthetic?
Synthetic, because humans process natural materials to make it.
True or False: Synthetic materials can originally come from natural resources.
True
Which sequence best shows how plastic can be made?
A. Plastic → petroleum → bottle
B. Petroleum → chemicals/materials → plastic → bottle
C. Bottle → plastic → petroleum
D. Petroleum → cotton → plastic
B. Petroleum → chemicals/materials → plastic → bottle
True or False: A synthetic material is always better for the environment than a natural material.
False
A scientist starts with petroleum and chemically changes it to create nylon. Identify the natural resource and the synthetic material.
Petroleum = natural resource; nylon = synthetic material.
A polyester shirt and a cotton shirt look similar. Which one is made from a synthetic material?
The polyester shirt
What is the major difference between a natural material and a synthetic material?
Natural materials occur in nature, while synthetic materials are made by people through chemical processes.
Petroleum is taken from Earth and chemically processed into plastic. Which part is the natural resource, and which is the synthetic material?
Petroleum = natural resource; plastic = synthetic material
A company changes a natural material to make a product stronger and more water-resistant. Why did the company make the change?
To give the material properties that make it more useful for its intended purpose.
FINAL CHALLENGE: Explain this statement: “Synthetic materials come from natural resources, but they can have different properties from the materials they came from.”
Humans can chemically change natural resources to create new materials with different properties, such as strength, flexibility, durability, or water resistance.