Polymers

To understand what a polymer is, we have to know what atoms are.

All atoms have an abbreviated symbol that represents that particular atom. For example: Hydrogen - H Oxygen- O
 * Atoms**- are the smallest building blocks that make up //everything// around us.

Atoms can join together to make molecules.

Water molecules are made of 2 Hydrogens and 1 Oxygen atom

Now that you know that atoms make up molecules, molecules make up polymers. You may not have heard of the word polymer but they make up many things you use everyday such as plastic toys, styrofoam, cups, clothing, and even chewing gum. Polymers are also found in the horns of animals, your fingernails, and in turtle shells. Some are hard like plastic, others are rubbery like a bouncy ball, some are sticky like glue, and others are just plain slimy!

The polymer we are going to make in Wanda's first experiment is a straight polymer, straight like a string of beads. There are also polymers that are branched like a tree.



//Poly-// means "many" and //-mer// means "part" or "segment"

media type="custom" key="8940230"