levo

Chemical Analysis, Organic Chemistry and Materials

Problems with polymers and recycling

  • 2 things to know
  • Paper 2

Overview

Polymers made from finite crude oil, why non-biodegradable polymers fill landfill, the carbon dioxide, hydrogen chloride and carbon monoxide released by burning them, why sorting is needed, and the economic and environmental advantages and disadvantages of recycling polymers.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

From which finite raw material are most polymers made?

Key term

Why is the availability of starting materials a problem for polymer production?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    From which finite raw material are most polymers made?

    Model answer

    Most polymers are made from crude oil.

  2. 2

    Why is the availability of starting materials a problem for polymer production?

    Model answer

    Crude oil is a finite resource that is being used up and will eventually run out.

  3. 3

    What does it mean to say that most polymers are non-biodegradable?

    Model answer

    Microorganisms cannot break them down, so they do not rot away.

  4. 4

    Explain why non-biodegradable polymers are a problem in landfill sites.

    Model answer

    They stay unchanged for many years and take up landfill space that is needed for other waste.

  5. 5

    Name a greenhouse gas released when waste polymers are burned.

    Model answer

    Carbon dioxide is released.

  6. 6

    Which toxic acidic gas is released when poly(chloroethene) is burned?

    Model answer

    Hydrogen chloride is released.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Key Concepts in Chemistry
States of Matter and Mixtures
Chemical Changes
Extracting Metals and Equilibria

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

A holds the acid.
burettepipettecylinder

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AChlorine is a pale green gas at room temperature.
BBromine is a red-brown liquid at room temperature.
CIodine is a dark grey solid at room temperature.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

An atom is about 0.1 nm across.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Chemical Analysis, Organic Chemistry and Materials, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.