Video Transcript
Monomers can be combined together
to make addition polymers. How will the mass of an addition
polymer compare with the mass of the monomers it was made from?
A polymer is a chemical that can be
formed from similar chemical units that join together. These similar chemical units that
can combine to form a chain are called monomers. Broadly speaking, there are two
types of polymers that can form when monomers join together. Some polymers are formed when the
internal bonds of monomers change, bonding the monomers together. Other polymers are formed when bits
of the monomers break off and the remainders bond together.
The first type of polymer is an
addition polymer. Addition polymers can be formed
without the formation of any by-products. The second type of polymer is a
condensation polymer. When condensation polymers are
formed, small by-product molecules are also produced. The question asks how the mass of
an addition polymer compares with the mass of the monomers that it was made
from. As no by-products are formed when
an addition polymer is created, the mass of the addition polymer must be equal to
the sum of the masses of the monomers.
In other words, we can answer the
question by saying the molecular mass of the product will simply be the sum of the
molecular masses of the monomers.
