Week Twelve Assignments:

1. 1.TOPIC 12: Solid Waste Disposal:
   Do the readings in the text book and correlate that with the Topic 12. The report of the week is on various methods of waste disposal.   This is where you get to think about what happens after you set out your garbage for the week.  Where does it go?  What are the possibilities for disposal waste and recyclables?  In Illinois you also have a third option for part of the year which is a collection of yard waste.  What happens to it?
   

The issue question is:  Plastic vs. Paper, which is more environmentally more friendly?

2. 2.HOME LAB # 7 - Properties, Classification, and Recycling Plastics:
   
   This week you need to complete lab #7. This requires the weighing of some of your garbage for a couple of weeks. Hopefully you have a bathroom scale to use- just weigh yourself first, then hold the garbage and weigh again. If you do not have a bathroom scale figure some method to estimate the volume instead.
   

At the same time that you are doing this, begin to collect some different types of plastic to be used in this lab. They do not all have to have recycle numbers on them. Look for some less obvious things, like lids, pill containers, different small containers used for food products, plastic parts to cold meat wrappings, etc.

The Data Table contains numbers which refer to the recycle numbers on various containers. Try to find a representative of each of the numbers, although # 3 is sometimes hard to find. Also use 2-3 other samples that do not have recycle numbers. In your baggie of lab equipment you will find 2 or three types of "popcorn" packing materials, these will be the most fun with the solubility tests. One type dissolves in acetone, another type does not but does dissolve in water given a little time. A few of the samples that are supposed to dissolve in acetone actually do not seem to do this. The objective of the exercise is to assign the recycle nos. to the types of plastics on the last page. Match the characteristics up the best that you can, as they may not fit precisely.

For the last question, I am looking at an application of things learned such as density relationships in the answer to the last question.

There are still a number of incomplete assignments out there. Please get caught up as soon as possible. 

A LOOK AHEAD:

FINAL EXAM: Some students have been asking about the Final Exam. This is a combination type exam - Topic 12, 13 (50 points) and 50 points for the final exam - total points = 100 and in the same format that we have been using. One part will be in the form of an essay that asks you to draw together a variety of concepts learned throughout the term...sort of the complete life cycle of a consumer product from raw material to final disposal.