Experiment 2

The Structure and Properties of Polymers

Purpose, Conclusions and Extensions

Purpose

The purpose of this experiment is to prepare two polymers, to examine their properties, and to relate their properties to their chemical structures. The two polymers to be studied are crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and Bakelite.

Conclusions

The conclusion section of your report should explain the polymer properties which you have observed, for example, viscosity and hardness, in terms of what you know about the molecular structure of these substances. The primary feature of these structures is the degree of crosslinking. In addition, the conclusion section should contain the answers to any questions asked in the Procedures section.

Extensions

One possible extension is to add other compounds to the gels to see how they affect the properties. It would be interesting to see if commercial gelatin products behave similarly.