polymers

• in a polymer, lots of small units are linked together to form a long molecule that has repeating sections. all of the atoms in a polymer are joined together with strong covalent bonds.
• the intermolecular forces between polymer molecules are larger than between simple covalent molecules so more energy is needed to break them. therefore most polymers are solid at room temperature
• polymers have lower boiling points than ionic or giant molecular compounds as their bonds are weaker.