Polymer

• What are polymers made up of?

  Monomers
• How can you identify a polymer molecule?

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

  The number of repeating units
• What do curved brackets indicate when drawing repeating units of polymers?

  They show the bonds between units
• 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
• Why are polymers generally solid at room temperature?

  Due to strong intermolecular forces
• What are the two main types of polymers mentioned?

  • Addition polymers
  • Condensation polymers
• What is the main reason polymers require high temperatures to break?

  Strong covalent bonds
• How do the melting and boiling points of polymers compare to giant covalent structures?

  Polymers have lower melting and boiling points
• What is the relationship between polymer length and intermolecular forces?

  Longer polymers have more intermolecular forces
• If you wanted to represent 400 propane monomers in a polymer, what would you write?

  The repeating unit with '400' in the corner
• What is the significance of the high surface area of polymers?

  It leads to many intermolecular forces
• How do the intermolecular forces in polymers compare to those in simple molecular substances?

  Polymers have more intermolecular forces