Video Summary

This is Crash Course Chemistry. Thanks for watching. A polymer is a large molecule made up of repeating units called monomers. Ethene is the simplest monomer and its polymer is polyethylene. Polyethylene is a thermoplastic, meaning it can be melted and reformed. Other polymers, such as PVC, polystyrene, and nylon, are made by changing the substituents on the ethene monomer. Polymers can be formed by addition polymerization or condensation polymerization. Addition polymerization occurs when monomers are added together to form a polymer without the formation of any byproducts. Condensation polymerization occurs when monomers are joined together by the removal of a small molecule, such as water. Amino acids are monomers that polymerize to form proteins. DNA and RNA are polymers that store genetic information.