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Mutant enzyme eats plastic
By terry rotherham
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Last updated almost 8 years ago
18 questions
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Students read an article in TheGuardian and answer questions about a mutant enzyme accidently discovered which could eventually help reduce plastic waste by breaking down the plastic into it's original components.
Please read the article found at this URL:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/16/scientists-accidentally-create-mutant-enzyme-that-eats-plastic-bottles
and answer the questions below. Thanks. Live long and prosper.
Question 1
1.
From which website was this article taken?
Question 2
2.
What was created by the scientists?
Question 3
3.
What does the new discovery do?
Question 4
4.
What type of organism was discovered in 2016? What was it's special super power?
Question 5
5.
What type of molecule in the bacteria had been mutated?
carbohydrate
fat
enzyme
DNA
Question 6
6.
What does PET stand for, in the context of this article?
Question 7
7.
What did the scientists 'accidentally' do to the enzyme?
Question 8
8.
How long does the mutant enzyme take to start breaking down plastic?
a few seconds
a few minutes
a few days
a few weeks
Question 9
9.
What will the enzyme do to the plastic (be more specific than 'break it down')?
Question 10
10.
At what rate are plastic bottles sold each minute world wide?
1000 bottles / min
1 million bottles / min
1.5 million bottles / min
50000 bottles / min
Question 11
11.
How much of it is recycled?
10%
4%
14%
20%
Question 12
12.
What does 'resistant to degradation' mean within the context of this article?
Question 13
13.
Currently what are recycled plastic bottles turned into?
cars
fibers for clothes
new clear bottles
toy star wars lasers
Question 14
14.
Where did scientists find the new enzyme?
in a bacteria in a dump in India
in a fungus in the rainforest
in a virus in a bird in Jamaica
in a bug in Japan
Question 15
15.
What is special about Diamond Light Source?
it can reveal atoms
it can see electrons
it is twice as bright as the sun
D
Question 16
16.
What is cutin?
Question 17
17.
Where are scientist thinking about transplanting the mutant enzyme into?
Question 18
18.
What caution did Professor Azapagic state at the end of the article?