Chemistry of Everyday Things

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 11.05.10

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Rationale
  3. Background
  4. Strategies
  5. Classroom Activities
  6. Teacher Resources
  7. Reading List for Students
  8. Appendix 1 State Standards
  9. Endnotes
  10. Bibliography

Polytails and Urban Tumble Weaves: The Chemistry of Synthetic Hair Fibers

Lesia Whitehurst

Published September 2011

Tools for this Unit:

Teacher Resources

Cesa, Irene, ed. ChemTopic Labs Polymers. Vol. 21. Batavia: Flinn Scientific, Inc, 2006.

This book contains laboratory activities and demonstrations on polymers with easy to understand explanations of the concepts.

Chanda, Manas. Introduction to polymer science and chemistry: a problem solving approach. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press :, 2006.

This is book provides essential content information on polymeric science.

Mebane, Robert C., Thomas R. Rybolt, and Anni Matsick. Plastics & polymers . New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 1995.

Part of a series of book about the science of everyday things, this book has lots of great experiments that can be done at home.

Watt, Shirley, and Robert Lipscomb. Polymer chemistry: a teaching package for pre-college teachers. Revised by Robert Lipscomb. Ed. Washington, D.C.: National Science Teachers Association, 1989.

This text is good source for background information on polymers.

Films: Chris Rock and Jeff Stilson, Good Hair, 2009 (www.google.com/search: Amazon.com, 2011).

Funny yet thought provoking documentary that explores the hair care industry in the U.S.

Websites:

American Chemical Council. Teaching Plastics http://plastics.americanchemistry.com/Teaching-Plastics > (accessed July 23, 2011)

Provides background information on plastics, with activities and other teacher resources.

Society of the Plastic Industry. About Plastics http://www.plasticsindustry.org/aboutplastics/?navItemNumber=1008 > (accessed July 23, 2011)

This website provides a wealth of resource materials, articles, and research on plastics

You tube Videos:

Polymerization [Video]. 2011 Retrieved July 29, 2011, from http://youtu.be/7nCfbZwGWK8

Video demonstration on nylon synthesis

How plastic bottles are recycled into polyester, [Video]. 2011 Retrieved July 29, 2011, from http://youtu.be/zyF9MxlcItw

Insightful video on the processing of plastic bottles into synthetic fibers

Comments:

Ci Hamilton

May 15, 2016 at 12:39 am

Chemical in synthetic hair

Great into tho the composition of synthetic hair but wonder what if any address the potentially harmful chemicals found in synthetic hair or adverse effects of long term use e.g. plastic ingredient ťriggering estrogen effects.

Porshe Chiles

May 12, 2017 at 2:42 pm

Can synthetic hair be recycled/reused

Is there a way to recycle synthetic hair, in a non-harmful way, as a means of creating other products, or to create more synthetic hair?

Heather N/a Elliott

July 3, 2017 at 9:29 pm

useful information

I landed on this portal while doing research on synthetic hair. It was extremely helpful and informative. thank you

Latisha Krupincza

November 30, 2018 at 9:39 pm

You've inspired me!

You've inspired me to start a socially responsible company with young girls in the Philadelphia. Let's connect!

Ali T

November 26, 2020 at 5:22 pm

Vinegar and Synthetic hair

It's common for people who use symthetic hair (known as Kanekalon) to soak it in vinegar to prevent common irritation and other allergic reactions. I would love to know the chemical reaction and safety aspects of doing this. I think my students would also want to know this. Do you know and are you able to share the reactions?

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