MYP 4 / LEVEL 15

CHEMISTRY
UNIT 1 - BALANCE
CRITERION D
SOI: Imbalanced relationships affect finite resources, both locally and globally.

-The good, the bad and the ugly side of plastics-

Plastics have had quite a century. A vast class of materials never before seen on Earth until
around the First World War now can be found in every corner of the planet. On land, in the
deepest ocean, and atop the tallest mountains. For all the use and convenience plastics provide,
the problem is the sheer amount of it has found its way out of use and into the environment. We
use plastic for almost everything, and that is because it is very useful. However, that is not the
end of the story; plastics also have a dark side. In this essay, we will explore both sides of
plastics and how are they produced.
In this summative assessment the students are in a role of a columnist who will explain the imbalanced
relationship of using plastics, through explaining the processes of production, the use of plastics and the
consequences of plastics with effectively applying scientific language and document the sources used
in the essay.
 The title is already given
 In the introduction paragraph of your essay explain what are the properties of plastics and how
are they made.
 Discuss and evaluate the pros and cons of the materials in the body part of the essay, by
reflecting on both economic, environmental, and health factors.
 You may add pictures if you think it will enrich your work.
 Have a locally and globally accepted scientific propositions and solutions to the problem in the
essay
 Write a conclusion paragraph of your essay where you integrate the statement of inquiry of this
unit.
 For all your work do a proper research and document the sources of information used
 Use APA format in your writing style.

Criterion D: Reflecting on the impacts of science

Maximum: 8
At the end of year 4, students should be able to:
i. explain the ways in which science is applied and used to address a specific problem or issue
ii. discuss and evaluate the various implications of using science and its application to solve a specific problem or issue
iii. apply scientific language effectively
 iv. document the work of others and sources of information used.

Level Level descriptor Task-specific clarification

The student is able to:

i. state the ways in which science is used to address a specific
i. state the ways in which science is used to address a
problem or issue researching and presenting data about plastics
specific problem or issue
with poor effort and data.
1-2. ii. state the implications of using science to solve a specific
ii. state the implications of using science to solve a
problem or issue, interacting with a economic, environmental and
specific problem or issue, interacting with a factor
health factors about the usage of plastics.
iii. apply scientific language to communicate understanding with
iii apply scientific language to communicate
limited success- making the evaluation of the arguments partially
understanding
with limited or no scientific vocabulary
iv. document sources with limited success iv. document sources with limited success

The student is able to:

i. state the ways in which science is used to address a specific
i. state the ways in which science is used to address a
problem or issue by researching and presenting the data about
specific problem or issue
plastics with limited amount of information
3-4. ii. state the implications of using science to solve a specific
ii. state the implications of using science to solve a
problem or issue, interacting with a economic, environmental, and
specific problem or issue, interacting with a factor
health factors results with limited amount of information
iii. sometimes apply scientific language to communicate -
iii. sometimes apply scientific language to
understanding. Making the evaluation of the arguments partially
communicate understanding
with limited or no scientific vocabulary
iv. sometimes document sources correctly iv. sometimes document sources correctly

The student is able to:

.i outline the ways in which science is used to address a specific
I. outline the ways in which science is used to address a
problem or issue researching and presenting the data about plastics
specific problem or issue
in understandable and scientific way
5-6.
ii outline the implications of using science to solve a specific
ii. outline the implications of using science to solve a
problem or issue, interacting with a economic, environmental and
specific problem or issue, interacting with a factor
health factors using scientific illustrations
iii. usually apply scientific language to communicate Iii usually apply scientific language to communicate
understanding clearly and precisely understanding clearly and precisely
iv. usually document sources correctly. iv. usually document sources correctly.

The student is able to:

i summarize the ways in which science is applied and used to
i. summarize the ways in which science is applied and address a specific problem or issue researching and presenting the
used to address a specific problem or issue data about plastics with highly accurate and understandable
scientific language using models and illustrations
iii describe and summarize the implications of using science and
7-8.
ii. describe and summarize the implications of using its application to solve a specific problem or issue, interacting with
science and its application to solve a specific problem economic, environmental, and health factors Highly precise
or issue, interacting with a factor arguments and using specific models describing and supporting the
claims and illustrations.
iii consistently apply scientific language to communicate
iii. consistently apply scientific language to
understanding clearly and precisely making clear and accurate
communicate understanding clearly and precisely
evidence based statements
iv. document sources completely iv. document sources completely