Assignment 1

Question 1

Define or explain, giving examples, the meaning of the following terms:

a. Monomer

Answer 1

MONOMER: an atom or small molecule that may bind chemically to other monomers to form polymers.
e.g: Vinyl Chloride(chloroethene)

Question 2

b. Polymer

Answer 2

POLYMER: a large moleculer built from numerous small molecules called monomers.
e.g: Polyvinyl Chloride

Question 3

c. Degree of polymerisation

Answer 3

DEGREE OF POLYMERISATION: Average number of monomeric units per molecule

EXAMPLE:

• If a polymer has a molecular weight of 10 000g/mol
• If the repeating units each have a molecular weight of 100g/mol
• DP = 10 000/100 = 1000

Question 4

Define or explain the meaning of the following terms, and give examples:
a. Homopolymer

Answer 4

A polymer synthesised from one kind of monomer

Question 5

b. Random copolymer

Answer 5

a polymer consisting of different kinds of monomer units that are randomly distributed along the polymer chain. e.g polypropylene

Question 6

c. Terpolymer

Answer 6

a monomer synthesized from 3 different monomers. e.g. Acrylonitrile.

Question 7

d. Polydisperse polymer

Answer 7

A polymer that exists over a wide range of molecular masses.

Question 8

Provide an explanation or description on what is a semi-synthetic polymer, and provide at
least three examples with your answer.

Answer 8

Are chemically modified natural polymers

Example: Cellulose acetate, Cellulose nitrate, Vulcanised rubber.