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Polymers

Some molecules are giants of thousands or millions of atoms. A polymer is a giant molecule made by joining a small molecule, the monomer, to itself again and again into a long chain, like beads on a string. Cellulose and starch (chains of glucose), proteins, wool and silk are natural polymers; plastics, nylon and polyester are synthetic polymers made from oil. Polythene forms when ethene's double bond opens and thousands of ethene molecules join with new covalent bonds: a polymerisation reaction. The same strong bonds make plastics last for centuries in nature.

Depth 1 · Foundation

You can say what a giant molecule and a polymer are, describe a polymer as a chain of repeated monomers, and sort everyday polymers into natural and synthetic.

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Depths of understanding

  1. 1

    Foundation

    You can say what a giant molecule and a polymer are, describe a polymer as a chain of repeated monomers, and sort everyday polymers into natural and synthetic.

    Opens after

    MoleculeA polymer is a molecule, just an enormous one.Natural and synthetic materialsPolymers come in natural and synthetic kinds, like materials in general.
  2. 2

    Deeper

    You can explain how polythene is made from ethene: the double bond opens and the molecules join into a long chain in a polymerisation reaction, and why the product behaves so differently from the gas it came from.

    Master depth 1 first

    Covalent bonds, depth 2Polymerisation opens a double bond and makes new covalent bonds.HydrocarbonsEthene and polythene are both hydrocarbons taken from oil.

Your path here

What's still between you and Polymers, depth 1, in the order you can learn it.

  1. 1Melting and freezingDepth 1 · Foundation · Matter and Its Properties
  2. 2States of matterDepth 1 · Foundation · Matter and Its Properties
  3. 3MatterDepth 1 · Foundation · Matter and Its Properties
  4. 4MatterDepth 2 · Deeper · Matter and Its Properties
  5. 5States of matterDepth 2 · Deeper · Matter and Its Properties
  6. 6Melting and freezingDepth 2 · Deeper · Matter and Its Properties
  7. 7Evaporation and condensationDepth 1 · Foundation · Matter and Its Properties
  8. 8Particle modelDepth 1 · Foundation · Matter and Its Properties
  9. 9AtomDepth 1 · Foundation · Atoms and Elements
  10. 10Parts of an atomDepth 1 · Foundation · Atoms and Elements
  11. 11ElementDepth 1 · Foundation · Atoms and Elements
  12. 12MoleculeDepth 1 · Foundation · Chemical Bonding
  13. 13Natural and synthetic materialsDepth 1 · Foundation · Matter and Its Properties
  14. 14PolymersDepth 1 · Foundation · Organic Chemistry

Where it fits

Builds on

MoleculeChemical BondingNatural and synthetic materialsMatter and Its Properties

This concept

PolymersOrganic Chemistry

Makes these deeper

Once you know Polymers, come back to these — they'll mean more.