2. Building Polymers Activity
Polymer Notes
Answer Focus Question #2
Collect Homework and notebooks
3. Topic: Solids: Crystalline and Polymer
Focus Questions:
#1) What is a crystalline structure and what
does it look like?
#2) What are some examples of polymer and
what does their molecular structure look like?
Copy all notes in green
5. A solid with a crystalline structure has an
orderly, repeating pattern of molecules and
atoms
What patterns could we form
with these shapes?
6. Here are pictures of molecules of a crystalline
solid in 2-D
7.
8. 90% of all solids have a crystalline structure.
Some examples of crystalline solids include
rocks, metal, sand, and salt. What would salt
look like if we took a closer look?
9. Salt is a crystalline solid made of two
elements, Sodium (Na) and Chloride (Cl). If
you were to zoom into a cube of salt, you
would see this.
10. You and your partner will now create the
crystalline structure of salt. Using markers, pens,
or highlighters, label half of your marshmallows
as (CL) and the other half as (NA). With your
marshmallows and toothpicks, create a 3-
dimensional structure of salt such as the picture
shown below. You will be graded on the
accuracy of your structure!
11. Answer these questions in your notebook
after you’re finished.
1) How many Na atoms were in your cube?
2) How many Cl atoms were in your cube?
3) What does crystalline mean?
12. Summarize what you just read in 3 sentences
in your interactive notebook
13. Mr. Lee will select one student to answer
focus question #1
14. Not all solids are
crystalline. Some solids
have a polymer
structure. Plastic is
such a solid and is
found in skateboard
wheels, tupperware,
safety goggles, and on
the surface of non-stick
pans. What does this
structure look like?
15. “Polymer” is made of two latin roots, “poly”
which means “many”, and “mer”, which
means “parts”. A polymer is a long chain of
repeating molecules that make up a
substance.
Some examples of polymers are glass,
rubber, plastic, and wax.
16. You already are familiar with one polymer.
Can you guess what it is?
17. Mr. Lee will draw a comic strip of a polymer
being created. Follow along in your
notebook.
18. Activity
You will now build a polymer to see what its
structure looks like. We will build the polymer
polyethelyne, which we drew in our comic.
Watch Mr. Lee build his model first.
19. Notes
Polymers have a structure that is much more
flexible (bends easily) than crystalline structure.
Polymers also have a low melting point
compared to crystalline solids. This makes them
useful because you can change their shape when
they're liquids and let them cool back into solids.
20. Polymers are called “amorphous” solids.
Amorphous means “not having a definite
shape.” They're called this because they don't
have an orderly pattern like crystalline solids.
21. Polymers
Polyethelyene molecules are the polymers in
plastics. They can be melted, formed into
different shapes, then cooled again to form
solids.
