Structure and Bonding in Polymers

Vocabulary flashcards covering the structure, bonding, representation, and physical properties of polymers and monomers from the lecture.

Polymer

A very large molecule made by joining together thousands of small, identical molecules called monomers.

Monomer

A small, identical starting molecule—often an alkene—that joins together with thousands of other identical molecules to form a polymer.

Ethene

An alkene monomer with a double covalent bond between carbon atoms that joins together to form polyethene.

Polyethene

The polymer formed when thousands of ethene monomer molecules join together, resulting in single covalent bonds between carbon atoms.

Repeating unit

A shorthand representation used by scientists to show a polymer structure without drawing every atom and covalent bond.

Lowercase $n$

A symbol placed outside the brackets of a repeating unit representing a large number, indicating that a very large number of repeating units are joined together.

Intermolecular forces

Forces of attraction that act between molecules.

High melting point of polymers

A physical property caused by relatively strong intermolecular forces between polymer molecules, which require a lot of energy to break and make most polymers solids at room temperature.