All flashcards topics

Condensation polymersEdexcel A-Level Chemistry: Flashcards

What these 13 flashcards ask

  • What is condensation polymerisation?
  • Why must each monomer in a condensation polymer have two functional groups?
  • What monomers form a polyester?
  • What monomers form a polyamide?
  • What is the ester link, and what is the amide link?
  • What small molecule is lost when a polyester or polyamide forms from a diacid?
  • What monomers form PET?
  • What monomers form nylon-6,6?
  • What is the repeat unit of nylon-6,6?
  • What is the repeat unit of a polypeptide made from an amino acid H₂N–CHR–COOH?
  • Why can lactic acid, CH₃CH(OH)COOH, form a polyester on its own?
  • How do you find the monomers from a condensation polymer's repeat unit?
  • How does condensation polymerisation differ from addition polymerisation?

Exam questions on Condensation polymers

  1. Poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, is used to make drinks bottles. It is made from benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid, HOOC–C₆H₄–COOH, and ethane-1,2-diol, HOCH₂CH₂OH.
    Explain why the formation of PET is called condensation polymerisation, and why each monomer must have two functional groups.2 marks
  2. Nylon-6,6 is a polymer used in ropes and fabrics. It is made from hexanedioic acid, HOOC(CH₂)₄COOH, and 1,6-diaminohexane, H₂N(CH₂)₆NH₂.
    Write the structural formula of the repeat unit of nylon-6,6.2 marks
  3. Two biodegradable plastics are each made from a single monomer. Poly(lactic acid), PLA, is made from 2-hydroxypropanoic acid, CH₃CH(OH)COOH. A polyamide is made from 6-aminohexanoic acid, H₂N(CH₂)₅COOH.
    Explain how PLA forms from a single monomer, and write the structural formula of its repeat unit.3 marks
See the full worksheet

Written by the Exaim team, led by Shaun Daswani (Head of Upper Secondary, Improve ME Institute; MSc Financial Mathematics, Imperial College London; BSc, UCL) and Jason Daswani (operational lead, Improve ME Institute; LSE).