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Make It and Break It: Bioplastics from Plant Starch with Incorporation of Engineering Principles

Make It and Break It: Bioplastics from Plant Starch with Incorporation of Engineering Principles
Contributors
Jane Wissinger
Professor Emerita Organic Chemistry and Laboratory Director
Cassandra Lydon
White Bear Lake High School
Cassie Javner
Richfield High School
Make It and Break It
Summary
Developed by:
Richard Harris, Carla Ahrenstorff
Gracye Theryo, Aaron Johnson
Jane Wissinger*

Three types of household plant starches (corn, potato, and tapioca) and additives are used to prepare inexpensive, safe, and non-toxic polymeric materials of varying physical properties. The renewable plastic films are explored using tensile testing in order to compare and quantify the effect of composition on their strength and properties.
Keywords
Bioplastics
Engineering design
Tensile Strength
Starch
Sustainability

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Moderation state
Published
Object Type
Laboratory experiment
Lesson summaries
Audience
High School (Secondary School)
Introductory Undergraduate
Published on
Green Chemistry Principles
Waste Prevention
Use of Renewable Feedstocks
Design for Degradation
U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Responsible Consumption and Production
Life Below Water
Life on Land
NGSS Standards, if applicable
Next Generation Science Standards MS-ETS1 Engineering Design,1 and specifically MN Education Standards 9-12.2
Strand 1: Nature of Science and Engineering
Substrand 2: The Practice of Engineering
Substrand 3: Interactions among Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Society
Learning Goals/Student Objectives
The experiment offers an exploratory design through choice of three types of starches and different additives. The tensile-testing illustrates evaluation of properties based on material composition and concept of engineering design for functional properties.

The experiment is a good platform for discussion of plastics in society and the need for new innovations using renewable materials that are potentially degradable to minimize environmental harm.

At the more advanced level, carbohydrate chemistry can be explored.
Common pedagogies covered
Collaborative/cooperative learning
Context-based learning
Hands-on learning
Problem-based learning
Time required (if applicable)
Two 1-hr time periods (drying needed in between preparation and tensile-testing)

Submitted by

Jane Wissinger
Reviewed by
Lucas Tucker
Safety Precautions, Hazards, and Risk Assessment
Care should be taken in using hot plates

0.1 M HCl (if used instead of vineager) is corrosive to the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes and 0.1 M NaOH can cause burns to the eyes, skin, digestive system or lungs
Teacher Recommendations or Piloting Data (if available)
see attached teacher notes
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.59877/LHDL9283
Other notes/information
Food coloring makes it a fun experiment.

File (PDF, PPT, image, etc)

File (PDF, PPT, image, etc)
makeitbreakitdsc_0593.JPG
tensiletestdsc_0597.JPG
makeitbreakit_gctlc_jw_0.pdf
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.