Bakelite: defining an artificial material

Defining an artificial material What are the household uses of Bakelite materials? a. It is used to make shaving brush, baby teething ring and a pen used by mothers to check off purchases
b. It is used in industries in harnessing electricity for lighting, production, manufacturing, and transportation.
c. It is used in manufacturing electrical and household materials such as utensils and electrical wires
d. It is used to make materials such as shellac and celluloid
The correct answer is (a) because the question is centered on household uses not commercial uses. In this case, the household use of this material is as stated in (a) above.
2. What did Friedel argue about Bakelite, and not Baekeland?
a. He said if it were not for Baekeland to invent and discover Bakelite, these materials would have not influenced society in any way.
b. He implied that Bakelite materials contributed to shaping material parameters of the 20th century.
c. Baekeland improved on what has been discovered by other scholars
d. Baekeland did little research concerning Bakelite materials and never discovered the enormous functions of the material.
The correct answer is (b) because Bakelite materials had many uses and they could have been discovered by anybody else were it not Baekeland. Therefore, it is the invention and discovery of Bakelite that shaped material parameters of twentieth century not Baekeland.
3. How can one understand Bakelite’s significance?
a. It needs one to understand how various stakeholders such as Baekeland himself, promoters and manufacturers analyzed and interpreted the material.
b. It needs one to comprehend how various stakeholders such as Baekeland himself, promoters and manufacturers defined how the material worked.
c. It needs to comprehend what researchers have said about Bakelite material
d. It needs to understand what Baekeland discovered about the material and no one else.
The correct answer is (a) because the material was a product of chemical synthesis, thus it had to be interpreted and analyzed since it involved intricate interactive process.
4. In which country did Baekeland develop his career?
a. Britain
b. United States of America
c. Germany
d. Japan
The answer is (b) because he moved to United States of America using the money he received as an award for academic excellence. It is here that he worked for various photographic companies before venturing into his own business.
5. Was Baekeland the first chemist to investigate condensation reaction of phenol and formaldehyde? Explain
a. Yes
b. No
c. It has not been mentioned
d. I think so
The answer is (b) because from his records, it is clear that the subject had already been studied in 1872 by German organic chemist Adolf Baeyer who found out that condensation process of phenol and formaldehyde had a recalcitrant substance from phenols and aldehydes.
6. Which process was effective in chemical synthesis of materials?
a. Heat and pressure method
b. Celluloid method
c. Both the celluloid and heat and pressure method
d. Condensation process
The correct answer is (a) because heat and pressure method contained gas thus, products would not be rendered porous and brittle. For example, shellac was hardened by heating.
Work Cited
Meikele, Jeffrey. American Plastic: A cultural history. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1997. Print.