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How do we recycle metal?

How do we recycle metal?
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In this unit, we studied different materials. We also saw what people wear when they work in foundries. Let’s review some of the things we learned.
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Look at what this person is wearing. Discuss. What are they wearing that is rigid? What is flexible? Why are some things rigid and other things flexible?
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The hard hat is rigid. It stops them from bumping their head on things in the foundry. The clothing is all flexible so that the person can move.
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You melted candy in your class. Discuss. Which of your candies were meltable? What does something look and feel like when it melts?
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You used hot water to melt candy in class. People use fire to melt metal in foundries. The metal melts, but it does not catch on fire. It is only meltable.
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Other things can catch on fire, though. Things that can catch on fire are called flammable. Discuss. Which of these things is meltable? Which is flammable? What do you see that helps you decide?
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You built towers using note cards. Note cards are normally used for something else. Discuss. What are note cards normally used for?
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Note cards are normally used for writing notes. You used them in a new way, but they are still note cards. When you use something in a new way, it is called reuse.
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Discuss. What was the first use for this metal can? How is it being reused?
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Reuse is one way to use metal again and again. But there is another way to use metal again. Metal is meltable, so it can go to foundries to be used again.
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Believe it or not, you might have sent metal to a foundry before. If you have ever recycled something made of metal, it might have gone to a foundry. Let’s see how it happens.
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After you put metal things into recycling bins, big trucks pick them up. You might have seen trucks like this before.
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Eventually, trucks take those metal things to a foundry. Here is a truck filled with metal soda cans. There is a conveyor belt on the ground. It carries the cans into the foundry.
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Other old metal things can also go to foundries. This is a mix of lots of old metal things, like car parts. Watch closely: you might see an old metal bowl, too!
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01/25
Get a copy of the Recycle with Fire worksheet. Write your name at the top. We will use this sheet to record what we see in the foundry.
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02/25
Only things that are made of metal can go into a foundry. Discuss. Which of these things are made of metal? Which are not? What do you see that all of the metal things have in common?
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We noticed a few things that these metal items have in common. They are shiny. They are also a gray or silver color. They are also solid.
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On your worksheet, write down a few words to describe these metal things. (Hint: think back to what they all have in common.)
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Now we are inside of a foundry where recycling happens. The metal to be recycled goes into ovens. The ovens have very hot fires inside.
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The fire in the ovens makes the metal look like this. Watch, then discuss. Does the metal catch on fire, or does the metal just melt? What do you see that tells you that?
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07/25
Are the metal things meltable or flammable? On your worksheet, circle your answer.
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The hot, liquid metal can be poured into new shapes. Then it cools down and becomes solid again. Watch, then discuss. What do these new metal objects have in common?
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On your worksheet, write down a few words to describe the metal after it goes through the foundry. (Hint: think back to what these metal objects have in common with the other metal objects you’ve seen.)
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The metal can now be made into new things, like new cans. This is what it means to recycle. The metal is used again and again in a cycle.
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We saw how metal is recycled. Discuss. What other materials can be recycled?
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Paper is another material that is recycled. Discuss. Which of these things are made of paper? What do you see that they all have in common?
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These are made of paper. We noticed that paper is very thin. Paper is not a liquid—it is a solid. Paper is flexible.
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On your worksheet, write down a few words to describe paper. (Hint: think back to the clues we see that these things are made of paper.)
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Metal can be recycled with fire. The fire melts the metal. Discuss. Do you think that paper can be recycled with fire, too? Why or why not?
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Let’s try to recycle paper with a small fire. Watch, then discuss. Did the paper melt, or catch on fire? What do you see that tells you that?
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Is paper meltable or flammable? On your worksheet, circle your answer.
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Watch, then discuss. Do you think this is even paper anymore? Why or why not?
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This is not paper anymore. When paper burns, it turns into ash. Discuss. Which words would you use to describe ash?
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We noticed that ash is a powder. Ash is not flexible—it falls apart as soon as you touch it. You might have noticed other things, too.
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On your worksheet, write down a few words to describe the ash after it cools down.
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When the paper burned, it turned into ash. Ash cannot be turned back into new paper. The paper is permanently turned into ash, even when it cools down.
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The goal of recycling is to use a material again and again. Discuss. Do you think using fire is a good way to recycle metal? Why do you think that?
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The goal of recycling is to use a material again and again. Discuss. Do you think using fire is a good way to recycle paper? Why do you think that?
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Read and answer the final questions on your worksheet. When you are done, the next slide has more for you to learn about recycling.
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# Extensions
Learn more about recycling!

Paper is recycled with water, not fire! Old paper that is going to be recycled is mixed with water in a huge blender. These huge blenders are called pulpers. The wet, broken down paper pulp is pressed into new sheets of paper.

Here is a video of a pulper in action.
Make your own recycled paper with a blender.
Make your own recycled paper without a blender.
See a machine that turns used paper into toilet paper.
See more about how aluminum cans are recycled.
Watch a mini-lesson about where metal comes from.
Watch a mini-lesson about garbage.

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Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Other
2D Trash Dump Truck 2 by T_RoFilms
Aluminium Foundry Furnace Load With Metal Red Hot Flames Glowing Liquid Melting by Calisproducties
Aluminium Foundry Furnace Load With Metal Red Hot Flames Glowing Liquid Melting by Calisproducties
Aluminium Is Cooled With An Assembly Line worker Arranges Drop-Down Aluminium by vasttt
Brown paper bag crushed and crumpled isolated on white by THP Creative
Burning Paper by Phil Keck
Close up of an African American hand opening a Can beverage isolated on white background. Hands opening a soda can. by Red Confidential
Close-Up Of Brazier With Burning Fire Wood Against A Green Grass by vlad_star
Close-up of man throwing garbage into sorting bins. Media. Man throws garbage into colored bins for sorting. Sorting garbage helps in recycling and supports ecology of nature by Media Whalestock
Compressed aluminium can close up on white by O.Bellini
Compressed aluminium can close up on white by O.Bellini
Cover alumiunum cans. Aluminum cans. Top view. Aluminum cans in the market by Funtap
Crumpled empty blank soda can garbage. Crushed junk can recycle isolated without shadow by azure1
Dirty used foil tray for dessert. a tray that has fallen on its side because of the spoon. by Nadezhda Tulatova
Factory For Melting Aluminum.liquid Aluminum Was Dispensed Into Molds by vasttt
Foundry For Aluminum Scrap The Aluminum Assembly Line by vasttt
Index card with slight bends by William Milner
Recycle 13 - Aluminum by EastboundProductions
Workers Unload Aluminum Cans At A Recycling Center. by RickRay
foil aluminium by guy42
newspaper ball isolated on a white background by Krakenimages.com
Credits

Activity Prep

Print Prep

To use alternate supplies, go to the previous version.
In this performance task, students will observe how fire can be used to recycle some materials, but not others. Some changes caused by fire, such as melting, are reversible. Other changes, such as burning, are not reversible.

After a review of the Material Magic unit, students will record observations of the changes that metal and paper experience when they are exposed to fire. Then, they will use their observations of these changes to construct an argument about whether or not fire can be used to recycle each of those materials.

Preview activity
Number of students:
Recycle with Fire printout 1 per student
Prep Instructions

Before starting this lesson, review the unit Teacher Guide for an overview of the Material Magic Anchor Layer.

If you would like to break this performance task into smaller parts, we recommend teaching these portions separately:

1. Teach the unit review, and stop after the comparison of reusing vs. recycling a metal can.
2. Teach the introduction to the foundry and how metal is recycled, and stop once the first three boxes about metal on the student worksheets are completed.
3. Teach the portion about burning paper and have students complete the final written answers.
4. Share any of the extension videos that are of interest to you and your students.

Unit Review

20 mins

Hands-On Activity

50 mins

Extend this lesson

Videos