Question

Name the monomer of polythene.

Answer 1

Hint:Monomer is the smallest unit present in the polymers. Polymers are going to form by the linkage of the monomeric units. Monomers are nothing but the repeating unit of the polymer. Polymers have higher molecular weight than the monomers.

Complete step-by-step answer:- In the question it is asked about the monomer which is present in polythene polymers.
- First we should know the structure of the polythene so that we can find the monomeric unit which is present in polythene.
- The structure of polythene is as follows.
$$-{[C{H}_2-C{H}_2]}_n-$$
- We can see clearly that there is a presence of two carbons as the basic structure of the polythene.
- Therefore the polythene contains ethane as the basic component.
- The preparation of polythene is as follows.
$$n\underset{Ethylene}{.C{H}_2=C{H}_2}\stackrel{polymerization}{\to }\underset{polythene}{-{[C{H}_2-C{H}_2]}_n-}$$
- The process of preparation of polythene from ethylene also known as polymerization.
- In the above chemical reaction ‘n’ molecules of ethylene undergo polymerization and forms polythene as the product.
- From the above chemical equation it is clear that ethylene is the monomeric unit of polythene.
- Polythene is an example for thermoplastic we can heat and change the shape of polythene.
- Therefore the monomeric unit of polythene is ethylene.

Note:Polythene has many applications in daily life. Polythene is also called plastic. Plastic bags are going to be prepared using ethylene. There are two types of plastic bags available and they are HDPE and LDPE. HDPE – high density polyethylene, LDPE – low density polyethylene.