Question

What is the difference between plastic and polymer?

Answer 1

Polymer:

1. The large molecules with large molecular mass are formed by the repeating unit of monomers.
2. For example, Polyethene is formed by repeating the unit of Ethene. and Nylon-6,6 is formed by the repeating unit of Hexamethylene diamine and Adipic acid.

Plastic:

1. Plastic is a synthetic polymer that is either linear or cross-linked.
2. For example, Polythene is a form of plastic that is used to manufacture polythene bags.

Difference between polymer and plastic:

1. All the plastics are polymer but all the polymers are not plastic which means plastic is a sub-division of polymer.
2. Polymers are uniform molecules formed by small monomers and plastics are long-chain molecules formed by large monomers.
3. Polymers can be either natural or synthetic but plastics are synthetic materials.
4. Examples of natural polymers are Proteins, Cellulose, Starch, etc., and the examples of synthetic polymers are Bakelite, Polypropylene, Neoprene, Nylon, etc.