http://www.ck12.org Chapter 9. Chemistry of Carbon
FIGURE 9.3
Carbon atoms can form single, double, or
triple bonds with each other. How many
bonds do the carbon atoms share in each
compound shown here?Monomers and Polymers of Carbon
Because of carbon’s ability to form so many covalent bonds, it often forms polymers. Apolymeris a large
molecule that consists of many smaller molecules joined together by covalent bonds. The smaller molecules are
calledmonomers. (The prefixmonomeans "one," and the prefixpolymeans "many.") Polymers may consist of just
one type of monomer or of more than one type. Polymers are a little like the strings of beads inFigure9.4. What
do the individual beads represent?
FIGURE 9.4
A string of beads serves as a simple
model of a polymer. Like monomers mak-
ing up a polymer, the beads in a string
may be all the same or different from one
another.Many polymers occur naturally. You will read about natural polymers in this chapter’s "Hydrocarbons" and "Carbon
and Living Things" lessons. Other polymers are synthetic. This means that they are produced in labs or factories.
Synthetic polymers are created in synthesis reactions in which monomers bond together to form much larger
compounds. Plastics are examples of synthetic polymers. The plastic items inFigure9.5 are all made of polythene
(also called polyethylene). It consists of repeating monomers of ethene (C 2 H 4 ). To learn more about polymers and
how they form, go to this URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nCfbZwGWK8 (2:13).