Revision Notes

Class - 8 Science
Chapter 3 - Synthetic Fibres and Plastics

Synthetic Fibres:
● Synthetic fibre is a man-made fibre that is prepared by using raw
materials that are mainly of petroleum origin, called as petrochemicals. A
number of processes are involved in the preparation of the same. Some of
the common synthetic fibres are rayon, polyester and nylon.
● The synthetic fibres are made up of small units of chemicals
(monomers) which are joined together to form a chain and these chains
are called polymers. The name polymer is a Greek word that suggests:
poly meaning many and mer meaning units.
● The synthetic fibres can be obtained by the chemical processing of the
petrochemicals, unlike the natural fibres that are obtained from animals
and plants sources.

Uses of Synthetic fibres:

● Synthetic fibres can be woven into fabrics in the same way as natural
fabrics.
● They are excellent dress material as they are quick to dry, cheap, durable,
and easy to maintain. They are also a perfect choice for an umbrella due
to these qualities.
● Synthetic fibres find their uses in many household articles and textiles.
Some examples are chairs, buckets, toothbrushes, bottles, microwave
utensils, sweaters, raincoats, bedsheets, carpets etc.
● The strength of the synthetic fibres is the quality due to which it is used to
make fishing nets, parachutes, ropes for rock climbing and specialized
uses as glass fibre in aircrafts, sails of boats, surgical gowns in healthcare,
etc.

Types of Synthetic Fibres:

● Synthetic fibres are classified on the basis of the chemicals that are used
in their manufacturing.
● All these fibres differ from each other in terms of their strength, nature of
burning, affordability, durability, availability, water absorption nature etc.
The different types of synthetic fibres are listed below:
 1. Rayon: It is popularly known as artificial silk. It is called viscose-rayon
regenerated cellulose. Though it is made from cellulose obtained from the
natural source of wood pulp, it is a man-made fibre as it is made by the
chemical treatment of wood pulp. It can be woven like silk fibres and
dyed in a variety of colours. It is used to make fabrics, bedsheets, carpets,
car upholstery, etc.
2. Nylon: It is a polymer of adipic acid hexamethylene diamine. It was the
first fully synthetic fibre that was made from coal, water and air. The
nylon fibres are light, elastic, strong, durable and lustrous. This makes it a
good choice for fabrics and it also dries up quickly. It has multiple uses in
fabrics, car seat belts, ropes, curtains, toothbrushes and due to its strength,
it is used in parachutes and ropes for rock climbing.
3. Polyester: It is made up of monomer esters. It is yet another important
man-made fabric. It has an excellent quality of being wrinkle-free and
remains crisp, and is easy to wash and so it is used for dresses, suits,
rainwear, etc. A type of polyester known as PET or Polyethylene
terephthalate is very popular for making kitchen products, wires, bottles
etc.
4. Acrylic: It is made up of polymer polyacrylonitrile. This is a fibre that is
very much similar to wool. This is used to make sweaters, blankets,
shawls, etc. as it is much affordable and cheap and durable in comparison
to the natural woollen fibres. It is light, soft, warm and resistant to
chemicals, moths and sunlight due to which they are being widely used.

Plastics:
● Plastics are also a polymer, and unlike synthetic fibres, they have a
different arrangement of the polymer units.
● They may have a linear or a cross-linked arrangement of the units. An
example of plastic is Polythene.
● Plastics are widely in use as they can be recycled, melted, reused,
moulded or rolled into different shapes. They are used to make a variety
of products like chairs, bags, toys, buckets, kitchen products etc.

Characteristics of Plastics:
● Non-reactive: Plastics are not affected by air, water, soil, etc and so will
not corrode due to which they can be used for storage of materials.
● Light, strong and durable: Plastics are light, strong and durable. They
have a property that they can be moulded into different shapes and sizes
and so it is used for various purposes. And it is less expensive than metal.
 ● Poor Conductors: They are poor conductors of heat and electricity and
do not allow them to flow through them. This allows it to be used for
wires, screwdriver handles, frying pan handles, etc.

Effect of Plastics on Environment:

● Plastics are not at all environment friendly. They accumulate in the
environment over years without disintegrating.
● The burning of plastics releases toxic gases into the atmosphere which
pose a health hazard for humans, animals and plants.
● The plastics are not biodegradable, that is, they cannot be decomposed
naturally by the action of bacteria.
● Improper disposal of plastic bags can lead to choking in animals if they
consume it and also clogging of drains.
● We have to learn to follow the three R principle, which is Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle, Recover and Refuse to keep our environment safe and
clean for all of us to live. We should also switch over to more ecofriendly
ways by minimising the use of plastics by following simple measures like
using cloth bags for shopping, using steel utensils in place of plastic ones,
etc.