Polymers

• What are polymers made of?


  Polymers are made of long chains of repeating units.
• How are the atoms in a polymer connected?


  All the atoms in a polymer are joined by strong covalent bonds.
• What is the purpose of drawing the repeating unit in a polymer?


  It simplifies the representation of a long polymer molecule.
• What is the molecular formula representation of a polymer?


  The molecular formula is written as the formula of the repeating unit in brackets followed by 'n'.
• What is the molecular formula of polyethene?


  The molecular formula of polyethene is (C₂H₄)ₙ.
• Why do polymer molecules require more energy to break than simple covalent molecules?


  Because the intermolecular forces between polymer molecules are larger.
• How do the boiling points of polymers compare to ionic or giant molecular compounds?


  Polymers generally have lower boiling points than ionic or giant molecular compounds.
• What are the characteristics of the repeating unit in a polymer?


  • Represents the smallest section of the polymer
  • Indicates how the polymer is constructed
  • Is repeated many times in the polymer chain
• What additional information is provided about polymers in the study material?


  • More about how polymers are made on pages 83 and 85
  • More about their properties and uses on pages 86-97