A polymer is a large molecule formed by

  • A. the joining together of many small repeating units called monomers
  • B. the breaking of a large molecule into small units
  • C. mixing two liquids without any reaction
  • D. heating a metal until it melts

Explanation

Thousands of monomer units link together to form a chain whose properties are quite different from those of the monomer, so gaseous ethene becomes solid polythene. The process is called polymerisation and it is either addition, in which nothing is lost, or condensation, in which a small molecule such as water is eliminated at each link. Breaking a polymer back into monomers is depolymerisation.

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