A solid strip made from a polymer is kept at room temperature. A chemical process changes each very large polymer molecule into many much smaller molecules. After returning to room temperature, the product is a liquid.
Which statement explains why the strip and the product have different states?
The very large polymer molecules contain more covalent bonds within them, so these bonds stop the polymer molecules moving past one another at room temperature.
The chemical process gives the product molecules energy that remains in them at room temperature, so they continue to move past one another.
The very large polymer molecules have stronger intermolecular forces than the smaller product molecules, so only the product molecules can move past one another at room temperature.
The product molecules take up less space than the polymer molecules, so they can move past one another even though the intermolecular forces are unchanged.
84 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Chemistry 2.2 How bonding and structure are related to the properties of substances, covering 2.2.1a The three states of matter, 2.2.1b Limitations of the simple particle model, 2.2.2 State symbols in chemical equations, 2.2.3 Properties of ionic compounds, 2.2.4 Properties of small molecules, 2.2.5 Polymers, 2.2.6 Giant covalent structures, 2.2.7 Properties of metals and alloys, and 2.2.8 Metals as conductors. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.