When a strip of plastic is placed in a silver nitrate solution, no immediate reaction will occur. Unlike metals, plastic does not easily react with chemicals like silver nitrate. Silver nitrate is a compound commonly used in chemical reactions to test for the presence of halide ions. If the plastic strip has been previously contaminated with substances that contain halide ions such as chloride, bromide, or iodide, then a reaction may occur where the halide ions react with the silver nitrate to form a solid silver halide compound. This compound would appear as a visible precipitate or color change on the plastic strip.
