bonding in polymers

Question 1

properties of polymers

Answer 1

have thousands of uses

made by joining together thousands of small, identical molecules (monomers)

solids at room temperature (the intermolecular forces of attraction between polymer molecules are relatively strong)

high melting point

Question 2

how are polymers made?

Answer 2

by joining together thousands of smal identical molecules

monomers

Question 3

what type of molecules are monomers often?

Answer 3

allen’s molecules (eg ethene)

Question 4

what type of bond does the monomer have?

Answer 4

double carbon to carbon covalent bond

C=C

Question 5

what type of bond does the polymer have ?

Answer 5

single carbon to carbon covalent bond

C-C

Question 6

wheat is a repeating unit

Answer 6

there are a lot of atoms and covalent bonds to draw in a polymer so we draw it in a shorthand way like this

   H    H
    |     |
(- C - C -) n
    |.    |
   H    H 
brackets go around the whole thing in real life

Question 7

what is a monomer

Answer 7

a molecule that can be bonded to other identical molecules to form a polymer

Question 8

what are the 3 important details about a repeating unit

Answer 8

remember it shows a single carbon to carbon covalent bond
C-C

the covalent on either side have to extend OUT of the brackets like this
(-C-C-)
this tells us the polymer molecule extends out in both directions

the little “n” outside the bracket tells us that the polymer contains a very large number of REPEATING UNITS joined together (represents a large number.

Question 9

describe the intermolecular forces between POLYMER molecules

Answer 9

they forces are relatively strong so it takes a LOT OF ENERGY to BREAK THESE FORCES meaning it has a HIGH MELTING POINT