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Picture the synthesis of a polymer formed from the following monomers. Each monomer contains 2 carbon (C) atoms, 6 hydrogen (H) atoms, and 1 oxygen (O) atom; each monomer has the formula C2H6O. What is the formula of the molecule formed after connecting three of these monomers?

2 Answers

5 votes

Final answer:

When three monomers of C2H6O undergo dehydration synthesis to form a polymer, the resulting molecule, after releasing two water molecules, would have the formula C6H10O1.

Step-by-step explanation:

The formula of the monomer given is C2H6O. When three such monomers combine to form a polymer, the process they undergo is known as dehydration synthesis. During this reaction, a molecule of water (H2O) is released for each bond formed between monomers. As a polymer is formed, the bond lines indicate that the structure extends, incorporating all the atoms from each monomer except for the atoms that form the water molecules lost during the reaction.

For three monomers, two water molecules would be released, resulting in the loss of 2 hydrogen (H) atoms and one oxygen (O) atom overall. The empirical formula for the polymer formed from three monomers of C2H6O once two H2O molecules are removed would therefore be C6H14O - (3O + 4H) = C6H10O1.

Remember, in polymer science, the convention for denoting the repeat units in a polymer is by placing the monomer unit in parentheses followed by a subscript 'n', representing the number of repeated units in the chain. However, in your specific question where we are considering only three monomers, we calculate the exact formula of the resulting molecule.

User Aiao
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4.8k points
5 votes

Step-by-step explanation:

A monomer is defined as the smallest unit that is present in a polymer.

As it is given that chemical formula of monomer is
C_(2)H_(6)O. So, when three units of these monomers combine together then it will be
3C_(2)H_(6)O.

Hence, upon combination of three monomer units of
C_(2)H_(6)O, the chemical formula of the molecule formed after connecting three of these monomers is
C_(6)H_(18)O_(3)

User Pawel Miech
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4.3k points