Urban Environmental Quality and Human Health: Conceiving a Sustainable Future

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 08.07.06

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Objectives
  2. Introduction
  3. Family History
  4. Conception
  5. Birth: the primordial ooze to the chemistry of bottle life
  6. Adolescence: or the formation of the physical character of the bottle 10
  7. Adulthood: Or the working life of a bottle
  8. Seniority: or the many reasons not to reuse a bottle
  9. Death and Afterlife: Recycling?
  10. Resources
  11. Appendix: New Haven Science Standards
  12. End Notes

Life Cycle Analysis of an Ordinary Plastic Water Bottle

Jennifer B. Esty

Published September 2008

Tools for this Unit:

Appendix: New Haven Science Standards

Properties of Matter - How does the structure of matter affect the properties and uses of materials?

9.5 - Due to its unique chemical structure, carbon forms many organic and inorganic compounds.

- Carbon atoms can bond to one another in chains, rings and branching networks to form a variety of structures, including fossil fuels, synthetic polymers and the large molecules of life.
Science and Technology in Society - How do science and technology affect the quality of our lives?

9.6 - Chemical technologies present both risks and benefits to the health and well-being of humans, plants and animals.

  • Materials produced from the cracking of petroleum are the starting points for the production of many synthetic compounds.
  • The products of chemical technologies include synthetic fibers, pharmaceuticals, plastics and fuels.

D 17. Explain how the chemical structure of polymers affects their physical properties.

D 13. Explain how the structure of the carbon atom affects the type of bonds it forms in organic and inorganic molecules.

D 14. Describe combustion reactions of hydrocarbons and their resulting by-products.

D 15. Explain the general formation and structure of carbon-based polymers, including synthetic polymers, such as polyethylene, and biopolymers, such as carbohydrate.

D 16. Explain how simple chemical monomers can be combined to create linear, branched and/or cross-linked polymers.

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