6) Polymers and Giant Covalent Structures

What is a polymer?

A polymer is a long chain of repeating units (monomers) joined by covalent bonds.

How do you represent a polymer’s molecular formula?

The molecular formula is written with the repeating unit in brackets, followed by 'n', which represents the number of repeating units.

Why are polymers solid at room temperature?

Polymers have stronger intermolecular forces than simple molecular substances, requiring more energy to break them, making them solid at room temperature.

How do the boiling points of polymers compare to ionic or giant covalent compounds?

Polymers have lower boiling points than ionic or giant covalent compounds because their intermolecular forces are weaker.

What are giant covalent structures?

Giant covalent structures are macromolecules where all atoms are bonded by strong covalent bonds.

Why do giant covalent structures have high melting points?

Because of the large amount of energy needed to break the strong covalent bonds between atoms.

Do giant covalent structures conduct electricity?

No, they do not conduct electricity as they do not have charged particles, except for graphite.

How are carbon atoms bonded in diamond?

Each carbon atom in diamond forms four covalent bonds, creating a rigid structure.

How is graphite structured?

In graphite, each carbon atom forms three covalent bonds to create layers of hexagons, and there’s one delocalized electron per carbon atom.

What is silicon dioxide (SiO₂)?

Silicon dioxide, also called silica, is a giant covalent structure where each silicon atom is bonded to oxygen atoms, commonly found in sand.