Question 16
**Making bioplastic.** Materials: safety goggles, 40 cm³ water, 10 g cornflour, a beaker, 5 cm³ glycerine, 5 cm³ vinegar, a Bunsen burner, a stirrer, a pair of tongs, baking paper or a tray.
Mix the water and cornflour in the beaker. Add glycerine and vinegar. Warm the mixture on the burner while stirring. After 10 minutes, the mixture will be sticky, thick and translucent. Remove it from the heat and spread it onto baking paper or a baking tray. Let it rest for at least 24 hours, then remove the bioplastic from the tray.
**Caution:** The mixture will be hot and sticky. Handle with care to avoid burns. Ask your teacher to check your safety precautions before carrying out the practical work.
Now that you have read the procedure and the caution box, are there any other safety precautions that should be added? For example, how should you handle the hot beaker full of the hot, sticky mixture?
Mix the water and cornflour in the beaker. Add glycerine and vinegar. Warm the mixture on the burner while stirring. After 10 minutes, the mixture will be sticky, thick and translucent. Remove it from the heat and spread it onto baking paper or a baking tray. Let it rest for at least 24 hours, then remove the bioplastic from the tray.
**Caution:** The mixture will be hot and sticky. Handle with care to avoid burns. Ask your teacher to check your safety precautions before carrying out the practical work.
Now that you have read the procedure and the caution box, are there any other safety precautions that should be added? For example, how should you handle the hot beaker full of the hot, sticky mixture?
