What is a Polymer?

• What are polymers made up of?

  Monomers
• What is the formula for the monomer propine?

  C₃H₆
• How can you identify a polymer molecule?

  By finding the repeating monomer unit
• What does the letter 'n' represent in polymer notation?

  The number of repeating units
• How would you represent a reaction combining 400 propane monomers?

  Draw the repeating unit with '400' in the corner
• What type of brackets are used for repeating units in polymers?

  Curved brackets
• What type of bonds are present within polymers?

  Covalent bonds
• What must be broken to melt or boil polymers?

  Intermolecular forces between polymer molecules
• Why do polymers have higher melting points than simple molecular substances?

  They have more intermolecular forces
• How do the melting and boiling points of polymers compare to giant covalent structures?

  Polymers have lower melting and boiling points
• Why are polymers generally solid at room temperature?

  They have strong intermolecular forces
• What are the two main types of polymers mentioned?

  • Addition polymers
  • Condensation polymers