polymer

Everyday

1. (science) A polymer is a substance made of very long chain-like molecules, built from many small units (called monomers) joined together. tree →
2. Plastics are polymers, but so are many natural things such as rubber, wool, silk, starch and the DNA in our cells. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons polymers explain why plastic bags stretch, why slime is gooey and why rubber bounces. "Poly" means "many" and "mer" means "part". In everyday life polymer banknotes (in Australia, Canada, the UK and New Zealand) are made of a plastic polymer, not paper. Environment lessons talk about polymers that do not rot.

Examples

• Plastic is a polymer made from many small molecules joined in a chain. tree →
• We made slime in class, and it is a kind of polymer. tree →
• Rubber is a natural polymer that comes from trees. tree →
• Australian and British banknotes are made of polymer, not paper. tree →
• Silk and wool are natural polymers made by animals. tree →
• Some polymers take hundreds of years to break down. tree →
• A polymer chain is like a long string of beads. tree →

Note

Countable: polymers. "Poly-" means many (as in polygon). Not every polymer is a plastic: starch, DNA and rubber are natural polymers. Myth: "polymer" does not mean "dangerous chemical".