Polymers and crackingIB MYP Chemistry: Flashcards

What these 13 flashcards ask

What is cracking?
What conditions are used for cracking?
What two types of product does cracking make?
Why is cracking needed?
What is an alkene?
What does unsaturated mean?
What is a monomer?
What is a polymer?
What happens to the C=C bond in addition polymerisation?
Write the equation for the polymerisation of ethene.
Give two uses of poly(ethene).
Why does plastic waste cause problems?
Name two ways to reduce plastic waste.

Exam questions on Polymers and cracking

An oil refinery in Rotterdam separates crude oil into fractions. It produces more long-chain hydrocarbons than customers need, and too few shorter molecules for petrol and for making plastics. To fix this, it heats the long-chain hydrocarbons so that they break into smaller molecules.
State two conditions used for cracking.2 marks
A student is shown a sample of poly(ethene) and is told that it is made from ethene, C₂H₄.
Describe what happens to the ethene molecules during addition polymerisation.2 marks
Propene, C₃H₆, is another alkene. Poly(propene) is used to make rope, food containers and school chairs.
Name the monomer and the polymer in this process, and explain why it is called addition polymerisation.3 marks

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).