Properties of plastics (3): Flammability

Principle
A characteristic feature of plastic materials is their flammability. Plastic materials can be differentiated by evaluating the degree of flammability in and out of the flame, the flame-coloration and the soot formation.This experiment represents an essential part of the study of the physical characteristics of plastic materials, from which a classification can later be derived. The examination
of self-prepared plastic samples is particularly motivating for the students (see experimental units 2 and 5). After having performed all experiments and according to the above-mentioned evaluation table, a description form can be worked out, which contains the physical properties of all examined polymers (see also experiment 7.2). Plastic materials are examined for their flammability.

Learning objectives

•  Most polymers are combustible

Benefits

• Easy teaching and efficient learning by using interactive experimentation PHYWE-Software
• Experiment is part of a complete solution set with experiments for the topic Chemistry of Polymers matched with international curriculum: all topics are covered