Science of Materials: KS2 Plastic

Have you just completed our KS2 science activity worksheet about plastic? This is a quick quiz to test your knowledge!

Which of these sea creatures is a predator?

Dolphins are carnivores and hunt fish to eat so are called predators. All the others are herbivores and eat seaweed or algae from the seabed and rocks.

Dolphin

Manatee or sea cow

Parrot fish

Limpets

Which of these sea creatures is a primary consumer?

Parrot fish eat algae and seaweed, which have turned energy from the sun into carbohydrate. They are primary consumers. Turtles favourite food is jellyfish, while sharks and dolphins eat fish. They are secondary or tertiary consumers.

Parrot fish

Turtle

Shark

Dolphin

What is the item found most regularly on beach cleans?

Cigarette butts are the item most commonly picked up on beach cleans according to a survey of a year's beach cleans by the Ocean Conservancy in America.

Polystyrene containers

Yogurt pots

Cigarette butts

Glass drinks bottles

Are plastics a problem to wildlife when they end up in the sea?

Plastics don't break down easily in seawater. Animals can get caught up in big pieces. Small pieces can be eaten by animals thinking they are food. We have to stop plastic entering our planet's oceans and damaging the ecosystems there.

Yes

What are plastics made from?

Oil is used to make plastic. It is mined from under the sea or ground.

Sand from deserts

Oil from under the sea

Rocks from the Moon

It grows on trees

Are plastics a renewable or non-renewable resource?

They are non-renewable, because we can't grow more plastic. Once they are used up there won't be any left. We have about 50 years of oil left in the world.

Renewable

Non-renewable

Name some properties of plastic...

Plastics are usually light, waterproof and solid materials. This is why they last a long time out at sea and often wash up on beaches.

Waterproof

Light

Solid

All of the above

Where should your hard plastic packaging go?

Check your local collection, but most plastic packaging (except thin bags and films) can be recycled at home.

In the recycling bin

In the sea

Throw it out of the car window

In the black bin bag

Choose the reasons why we should recycle.

All of those reasons are important. If we don't save resources and look after our planet then we won't be able to live here any more. It's up to all of us to make the right decisions about using our precious resources.

We must not waste resources.

Materials are valuable.

We should save energy to help save our world.

All of the above

Can you think of how to reduce the plastic you use at home?

You could ask adults to help by buying items that aren't covered in plastic. You could ask for Birthday or Christmas presents that aren't made from plastic. Your clothes might be plastic, so check labels (cotton, wool, linen and bamboo fabrics are not plastic, but are renewable materials grown on plants or animals).

Remember - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Yes

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