Polymers

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Slide 1

Polymers

Slide 2

CA State Standards

Students know large molecules (polymers), such as proteins, nucleic acids, and starch, are formed by repetitive combinations of simple subunits.

Students know amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.

Students know the bonding characteristics of carbon that result in the formation of a large variety of structures ranging from simple hydrocarbons to complex polymers and biological molecules.

Slide 3

Definitions

Monomer - A molecule that can combine with others of the same kind to form a polymer.

Polymer - A substance that has a molecular structure built from a large number of similar units (monomers) bonded together.

Slide 4

Carbohydrates

Monomer - The simple sugars

Glucose, sucrose, fructose (and many others)

Polymer - The complex carbohydrates.

Starch and Cellulose

are long chains of simple

sugars

Slide 5

Proteins

Monomer - Amino acids

There are twenty amino acids that can be used to build human proteins

Slide 6

Proteins

Polymer - When many amino acids bond together to create long chains, the polymer is called a protein (it is also called a polypeptide because it contains many peptide bonds).

Slide 7

Insulin – A Human protein

Slide 8

DNA (a nucleic acid) is a polymer

Slide 9

DNA is made of monomers called nucleotides

A

G

T

C

Slide 10

Plastics

Plastics are synthetic polymers

Monomer:

Vinyl

chloride

C2H3Cl

Polymer:

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

……[C2H3Cl]n……

Slide 11

Synthetic Polymers and Their Uses