• Plastic-based foam is used for padding sensitive objects.pink foam image by laurent dambies from Fotolia.com
  
  Latex refers to any rubbery substance that consists of long chain molecules floating in a watery medium. Another word for this arrangement is an "emulsion." Foam refers to a material that is made of many trapped bubbles in a solid or liquid. In common parlance latex generally refers to a specific type of latex. Similarly foam refers to a specific type of foam consisting of small air bubbles in a polymer solid.
  
  

Material

• Latex and foam are at their most basic level made of long chain molecules called polymers. In the case of latex these polymers consist of a wide variety of biological substances, because latex is derived from plants. These biological structures include resins, oils and sugars. Foam, on the other hand, is generally made of plastics like polystyrene.
  
  

Density

• Polystyrene foam generally has a much lower density than latex. Polystyrene usually has a density of between 17 and 40 kg per cubic meter. Latex will generally have a much higher density of between 920 and 970 kg per cubic meter. As such, latex objects are generally much heavier than foam objects of the same volume.
  
  

Usage

• Polystyrene foam is used in packaging materials. It is also used in the manufacture of objects like surf boards, cups, and life rafts. Latex is used for gloves, balloons, and swimming caps.