Organic Chemistry Part 1.4

Question 1

what is a polymer

Answer 1

large organic molecule formed when many small molecules are covalently joined together

Question 2

What is the name of process of joining together large number of small molecules by covalent bonds to form a polymer

Answer 2

Polymerisation

Question 3

What is addition polymerisation

Answer 3

small unsaturated molecules joined together to form 1 molecule as only product

Question 4

Does the repeated unit still have double bonds between carbon atoms

Answer 4

No

Question 5

Does the repeated unit have bonds sticking out of square brackets

Answer 5

yes

Question 6

are there bond sticking out of the square brackets and how many units of monomer in square bracket and how to define number of times repeated in polymer

Answer 6

1 unit

‘n’ on bootom right corner of square bracket

Question 7

what is condensation polymerisation

Answer 7

monomers joined together to form a polymer with the elimination of simple molecule such as water

Question 8

What is the amide linkage (draw/visualise)

Answer 8

O
||
C - N
|
H

Question 9

What is nylon

Answer 9

a polyamide made from 2 monomers, a dicarboxylic acid and a diamine

Question 10

Why does nylon not have a fixed melting point

Answer 10

consist of a mixture of polymer molecule with different lengths

Question 11

what is terylene

Answer 11

a polyester made from 2 monomers, a dicarboxylic acid and diol

Question 12

why is terylene a polyester

Answer 12

contain many ester linkages

Question 12

what is ester linkage
(draw/visualise)

Answer 12

C - O
||
O

Question 13

what are synthetic fibres

Answer 13

plastics which have been spun into threads

Question 14

are nylon and terylene synthetic fibres

Answer 14

yes

Question 15

name 2 egs for nylon and terylene

Answer 15

nylon: strong ropes, fishing lines
terylene: t-shirts, curtains

Question 16

Compare (4 comparison factors) between addition polymerisation and condensation polymerisation

Answer 16

monomers must be unsaturated for A.P, but monomers must have 2 functional grounds in C.P.

A.P results in no by-products
C.P. results in by-products such as water

In A.P, polymer has same empirical formula as monomers, while in C.P, polymer have different empirical formula as monomers

In A.P, molecular mass of polymer is multiple of molecular mass of monomers. In C.P, molecular mass of polymer not multiple not multiple of molecular mass of monomer

Question 17

How are plastics made from

Answer 17

from polymers

Question 18

give 2 advantages of plastics out of 4

Answer 18

relatively cheap, durable, (light, tough and waterproof, easily moulded into various shapes)

Question 19

Can non-biodegradable plastics be broken down by bacteria/other living organisms

Answer 19

no

Question 20

briefly describe physical method of recycling

Answer 20

after pre-treatment, small pieces of plastics are melted, cooled, pulled into long strands and cut into pellets

pellets used as raw materials to manufacture new products

Question 21

what are the 2 chemical methods for recycling and briefly describe them and their conditions

Answer 21

cracking of long chain poly alkenes to form short chain alkanes and short chain alkenes with high temperature and catalyst

depolymerisation where polymers are broken into their monomers using water in the presence of acid catalyst