Addition Polymers

Question 1

when does an addition polymer form?

Answer 1

when molecules with a C=C double bond add together to create chains

Question 2

what are addition polymers made from?

Answer 2

• addition polymers are made from unsaturated monomers
• polymers are substances of high average relative molecular mass made up by joining lots of small repeating units called monomers
• the monomers that make up addition polymers have a double covalent bond
• lots of unsaturated monomer molecules (such as alkenes) can open up their double carbon=carbon bonds and join together to form polymer chains - this is called addition polymerisation

Question 3

how to name a polymer

Answer 3

• the name of the polymer comes from the type of monomer its made from
• you just put brackets around the name and add poly in front of it e.g. poly(propene)

Question 4

how to get the formula of the polymer

Answer 4

put the formula of the monomer in brackets and put a little n after it e.g. (C3H6)n

Question 5

why are polymers hard to dispose of?

Answer 5

• most addition polymers are inert - this is because the C-C bonds in the polymer chain are very strong and aren’t easily broken
• this means it takes a really long time for addition polymers to biodegrade so if you bury them in a landfill site, they will still be there years later
• burning plastics can release toxic gases so this is not a good idea
• it is difficult to dispose polymers - the best thing is to reuse them as many times as possible and recycle them if possible