Materials List: Stretching to Compare Properties:
The Plastic Test

A photograph shows a pile of many different types of plastics found in a garbage dump: beverage, liquid and food containers and their caps and lids, shoe soles, buckets.
Plastic is an ambiguous term used to describe a variety of different polymers. Despite recycling efforts, many plastics still end up in landfills and oceans.

Each group needs:

  • piece of plastic from a dry cleaning bag, ~30 x 30 cm (~12 x 12 in), labeled A
  • piece of plastic from a grocery store bag, ~30 x 30 cm (~12 x 12 in), labeled B
  • piece of plastic from a department store bag, ~30 x 30 cm (~12 x 12 in), labeled C
  • piece of plastics from a plastic milk container, ~30 x 30 cm (~12 x 12 in), labeled D
  • plastic medical examiner glove, labeled E
  • Data Collection Sheet, one per person
  • pencil
  • ruler

Note: The plastic piece sizes are approximate.

To share with the entire class:

  • colored tape
  • a few different sized notebooks
  • a set of the five plastic test pieces (A-E), for a teacher stretch demo
https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/nyu_plastic_activity1