Answers to Student Questions

This activity is a set of research questions for the students to answer. It can be used as a warm-up exercise for On Your Own Part 2 that requires them to do more in-depth research on a single topic. Below are short answers to guide you in grading the students' responses. However, it is recommended that you follow the links on the student pages to research the questions more thoroughly to most effectively gauge the students' understanding of the topics in the questions.

Relevant National Science Education Standards

Unifying Concepts and Processes — The questions deal with complicated chemical system interactions.

Physical Science — Molecular structure and its effect on macroscopic properties of matter figure throughout the research questions.

Science and Technology — The questions deal with the application of polymer science to practical technological use.

History and Nature of Science — Question 2 deals with an interesting story in the history of polymer science.