Written test 2 to the part III plastics

1. Vocabulary (20 points)

a) Choose the best variant:

1. fiberglass

a) волокно; b) стекловолокно; c) резина.

2. alkali

a) раствор; b) паста; ) щёлочь.

3. adhesive

a) клей; b) связь; c) воск.

4. transparent

a) сходный; b) прозрачный; c) гибкий.

5. carbon

a) азот; b) углерод; c) водород.

6. resin

a) смола; b) резина; c) прилипание.

7. capacitor

a) электрический конденсатор; b) катализатор; c) емкость.

8. lattices

a) лаки; b) лактоза; c) латексы.

9. acid

a) вещество; b) кислота; c) спираль.

10. liquid

a) давление; b) строение; c) жидкость.

11. substitute

a) заместитель; b) сочетание; с) упрочнение.

12. lightness

a) легкость; b) прочность; c) жесткость.

13. hemp

a) лен; b) пенька; c) верёвка.

14. webbing

a) сеть; b) войлок; c) тканая лента.

b) Match the English terms and their definitions:

1. tyre	a) a thread or filament from which a vegetable tissue, mineral substance, or textile is formed;
2. fiber	b) a solid or liquid synthetic organic polymer used as the basis of plastics, adhesives, varnishes, or other products;
3. wax	c) a white translucent material obtained by bleaching and purifying beeswax and used for such purposes as making candles, modelling, and as a basis of polishes;
4. foam	d) a lightweight form of rubber or plastic made by solidifying such a liquid;
5. plastic	e) a synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers such as polyethylene, PVC, nylon, etc.;
6. resin	f) a rubber ring placed over the rim of a wheel of a road vehicle to provide traction and reduce road shocks.

2. Reading (20 points)

a) Put the following words into the certain gaps. There are two extra words:

a) product; b) sticky; c) resin; d) mechanical; e) first; f) formaldehyde; g) to link; h) mixtures; i) properties; j) to foam; k) resistant; l) hard.

BAKELITE

The 1) … plastic based on a synthetic polymer was made from phenol and 2) … with the first viable and cheap synthesis methods invented in 1909 by Leo Hendrik Baekeland, a Belgian-born American living in New York State. Baekeland was searching for an insulating shellac to coat wires in electric motors and generators. He found that 3) … of phenol and formaldehyde formed a 4) … mass when mixed together and heated, and the mass became extremely 5) … if allowed to cool. He continued his investigations and found that the material could be mixed with wood flour, asbestos, or slate dust to create "composite" materials with different 6) … . Most of these compositions were strong and fire 7) … . The only problem was that the material tended 8) … during synthesis, and the resulting product was of unacceptable quality.

Baekeland built pressure vessels to force out the bubbles and provide a smooth, uniform 9) … . He publicly announced his discovery in 1912, naming it bakelite. It was originally used for electrical and 10) … parts, finally coming into widespread use in consumer goods in the 1920s. When the Bakelite patent expired in 1930, the Catalin Corporation acquired the patent and began manufacturing Catalin plastic using a different process that allowed a wider range of coloring.

b) Define whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

1. At first the problem was that bakelite could spume.

2. Baekeland didn’t want to isolate shellac to coat wires in generators.

3. The inventor went on experimenting by adding different materials to get “composite” materials.

4. At last bakelite became widespread in consumer products.

5. The first applications of bakelite were electrical and mechanical parts.

6. When cooled the mass was soft.

7. To get different properties of materials Baekeland mixed bakelite with asbestos, wood flour etc.

8. Some “composite” materials were strong and fire-proof.

9. Catalin Corporation began producing colored plastic using the same process.

10. Baekeland was a native American.

Total Score – 40 points