Polymers R Us
Project Home Page
Polymers are giant molecules (also called macromolecules) that are essential to our existence. They are important chemicals in our bodies (proteins, poly(nucleic acids)), in plants (starch, cellulose), and in our everyday lives (fibers, plastics, elastomers). In this project you will investigate how chemical composition and morphology (or overall structure of the polymer) affect the properties of polymers. You will start by doing some cool experiments to learn about the mechanical properties of polymers, like the stretch test - how far can you stretch a strip of polymer without breaking it? You'll learn how the orientation of polymer chains affects the mechanical properties as well. During the third week of the project you will learn ways to measure the crystallinity of a polymer and how crystallinity affects polymer properties. Finally, in the fourth week you can put to use what you have learned by designing polymers for particular applications.
Start out the project by logging on to the discussion board (click on the Week 1 link) to meet the students you will work with on the project. Then, check out the Polymer Resource Web Pages and proceed to build, along with your colleagues, a better understanding of the structure-property relationship of polymers!
