Question

Which material used to be extracted from plants but is now made through complex chemical reactions in a lab?

A) Rubber.
B) Silk.
C) Cotton.
D) Synthetic Rubber.

Answer 1

Synthetic rubber, first synthesized in 1909, is the material once derived from plants but now produced in labs from petroleum byproducts.

Step-by-step explanation:

The material that used to be extracted from plants but is now made through complex chemical reactions in a lab is synthetic rubber. Natural rubber, or caoutchouc, is composed of polymers of the organic compound isoprene. The demand for rubber led to the development of synthetic rubber, with the first successful synthesis by Fritz Hofmann's team in 1909. Synthetic rubbers such as polybutadiene, polychloroprene (Neoprene), and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) have become important materials with diverse applications, synthesized mainly from petroleum byproducts.