Oil and natural gas are the main raw materials which (can use) in the production of plastics.Plastics (will use) in the production of a wide range of household appliances.The car industry (may use) high-precision components in their vehicles.The majority of plastic parts (could not manufacture) using injection molding many years ago.Manufacturers (could not make) make plastics to a high standard of quality before they started to use oil.Soon plastics (will make) from any kind of plant material.

Learning goal 1: Plastic is used in many products. It is made out of crude oil, which is extracted from the ground.Using this information, identify which two statements are true.Crude oil is a natural resourcePlastic is a synthetic resourcePlastic is a natural resourceCrude oil is a synthetic resource

Read the text about Plastic and The Environment and fill in the summary below with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.Plastic and The EnvironmentPlastic is a material we use every day. The first plastics were made more than 100 years ago from parts of plants. Plastics are now made from oil, coal and natural gas. We are using up these things so fast that the Earth's supplies may run out. Because of this, scientists are investigating new ideas for making plastics from plants such as sweet potato, bamboo and flax.Things made from plastic can be useful for people but bad for the planet. Some plastics can last for a long time without wearing out, and can be difficult to get rid of when they are not needed. They can remain in rubbish dumps called landfill sites for hundreds of years. Landfills can be smelly, ugly, and harmful to our planet.Recycling is a good way to get rid of unwanted plastics. Recycled waste materials can be used again to make new products. This can be difficult as different types of plastic need to be recycled in different ways. Some kinds of plastics can be melted down and used to make new things such as bags and bottles. Others can be made into fibres (strands of material) for clothing.Another way to protect the environment is to use canvas bags for shopping rather than plastic ones. A lot of plastic objects can also be reused. Plastic bottles can be refilled many times, rather than throwing them away once they are empty. Unwanted plastic goods such as CDs and toys can be sold or given away to charity shops.Summary:We use plastic every day in life. People can find (1) plastic products but bad for the planet. Because of this, scientists are finding new ways of making plastics from (2) like sweet potato, bamboo or flax. Different types of plastic need to be (3) in different ways. Some kinds of bags and bottles can be remade from (4) plastics. Besides, instead of using plastic bags, (5) for shopping can be a better choice. Plus, people can sell or give away to charity shops unwanted plastic goods such as CDs and toys.

Plastics have replaced wood, paper, glass, steel, and aluminum as the materials of choice for many common objects used today. They usually have interior mechanical properties such as stiffness, strength, and temperature resistance to the materials they have replaced. However, plastics succeed because of their low density, toughness, and design flexibility. Much of this design flexibility is due to the manufacturing processes that have been developed to shape them into simple and complex forms that would be costly or even impossible to produce with traditional materials.Moulding processes have been around for a long time and are particularly suited to making plastic parts. Most of the processes can efficiently produce plastic parts in high numbers, but even where low numbers are involved, the complexity of the required shape may reduce the cost of moulding a part in plastic over machining a part from metals.Plastics production really started in the mid-20th century. Today there are hundreds of different plastics available, each one developed to have specific characteristics to meet the requirements of different users. The list of plastics appears to be endless but they fall into two categories, thermoplastics and thermosets. Thermoplastics can be melted and recycled into new parts. Thermosets are stronger than thermoplastics but cannot be recycled into new parts and have to be disposed of in other ways. Because plastics are not naturally biodegradable and not all plastics can be recycled, there is a real problem in disposing of plastic waste.To help answer this concern, bioplastics are being developed from plant materials. It is possible to produce a mouldable “plastic” with ground-up natural cellulose, other materials, and water. Drug capsules are made from starch-based bioplastics.Summary:Plastics are used for many common objects because they are strong, stiff and have (1) to temperature. The design flexibility of plastic makes it easy to be shaped into simple and complex forms, which is more expensive or impossible to manufacture with other (2) . Moulding process is a suitable method for making plastic parts. The cost of moulding a part in plastic is cheaper than one in (3) . Plastics are divided into two (4) . Thermoplastics can be heated and recycled into new parts but thermosets have to be disposed of in other ways. To solve the problem of disposing of plastic waste (5), are produced from plant materials. Drug capsules are made from this material.

Describe the constituents of plastics

Plastics (will give) additional characteristics such as fire retardancy to allow them to be used in aircraft parts in the future. Injection-moulded parts (may include) glass or carbon fibres for strength. Plastics (can mould) with a foaming agent which (will reduce) the density and hence the weight of the final component and reduce the material required so reducing the cost. The list of plastics appears to be endless but they fall into two categories, thermoplastics and thermosets. Thermoplastics (can melt and recycle) into new parts. Thermoset plastics are stronger than thermoplastics but (cannot recycle) into new parts and have to be disposed of in other ways.