Deck 3:Industrial importance of alkenes

Question 1

Polymer

Answer 1

A polymer is a long molecular chain built up from monomer units.

Question 2

Monomer

Answer 2

A monomer is a small molecule that combines with many other monomers to form a polymer.

Question 3

Addition polymerisation

Answer 3

Addition polymerisation is the process in which unsaturated alkene molecules(monomers) add on to a growing polymer chain one at a time, to form a very long saturated molecular chain( the addition polymer).

Question 4

Addition polymer

Answer 4

An addition polymer is a very long molecular chain, formed by repeated addition reactions of many unsaturated alkene molecules.

Question 5

Repeat unit

Answer 5

A repeat unit is a specific arrangement of atoms that occurs in the structure over and over again. Repeat units are included in brackets, outside of which is the symbol n.

Question 6

Biodegradable material

Answer 6

Biodegradable material is a material that is broken down naturally in the environment by living organisms.

Question 7

Cracking

Answer 7

Cracking refers to the breaking down of a long-chained saturated hydrocarbons to form a mixture of shorter-chained alkanes and alkenes.

Question 8

A catalyst

Answer 8

A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being used up in the process itself.

Question 9

Fractional distillation

Answer 9

Fractional distillation is the separation of the components in a liquid mixture into fractions which differ in boiling point (and hence chemical composition) by means of distillation, typically using a fractionating column.