Download Polymers - Issaquah Connect

Polymers
Putting the blob in the word “blobbily”.
Clean Up:

Stack up cups and popsicle sticks on the cart.

Beakers (with extra borax), and graduated
cylinders should go in your bin for the next class.
You will not be permitted to take your flubber
home, but I will explain why and then give you a
recipe to make your own.

What is a polymer?

A polymer is a chain of molecules.
Glucose Molecule
Cellulose Polymer
Natural
 DNA
 Proteins
 Cellulose
 Shellac
 Amber
 Natural Rubber
Synthetic (Man Made)
 Nylon
 Silicone
 Rubber
 Plastic
 Gum
 Neoprene
 Silly Putty
Examples of Polymers
Glycogen
(How the human body
naturally stores glucose.)
‹DNA›
‹ ‹ ‹ An actual
picture of a
polymer using
an atomic force
microscope
Borax Crystal (From Nature)
Sodium Tetraborate (Na2B4O7)
There is a polymer in the glue called
polyvinyl acetate. (These polymers would
be like the paperclips from the
demonstration.)
Before›
‹After
The borax acts as a cross linker. (It would
be like the magnets in the demonstration.)
This always reminds me of the
magnet sculpting toy. Individual
pieces of metal = molecules, stuck
together with magnet = polymer.