Use your knowledge of polymers, organic compounds, and environmental chemistry to answer the following questions.
Propene is the monomer used to make the polymer for some durable plastic food containers. Name the polymer that is made from propene.
Use a word/phrase from the list below to complete the sentence about the formation of this polymer:
"This polymer is made by joining many propene monomer molecules together in a process called __________."
Alcohols are organic molecules containing a hydroxyl group. The boiling point of a straight-chain alcohol is related to the number of carbon atoms in the molecule, as shown in the table below:
| Number of carbon atoms in molecule | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boiling point in ∘C^{\circ}\text{C}∘C | 65 | 78 | 97 | 117 | 138 |
State the relationship between the boiling point of a straight-chain alcohol and the number of carbon atoms in its molecule.
Hexan-1-ol has 6 carbon atoms. Predict its boiling point, and justify your prediction using the trend in the table.
Many plastic containers made of poly(propene) are not biodegradable. Used containers can be:
Suggest which of these two disposal methods is better for the environment, giving two reasons for your choice.
10 exam-style questions on Edexcel IGCSE Chemistry Synthetic polymers. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.