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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999  > February  >
In the Laboratory
Teaching Polymer Science to Third-Year Undergraduate Chemistry Students
Alan Jefferson* and David N. Phillips
Curtin University of Technology, School of Applied Chemistry, GPO Box U 1987, Perth, Western Australia 6001, AUSTRALIA
Cover
February 1999
Vol. 76 No. 2
p. 232
Abstract
It is the exception rather than the rule that polymer chemistry is offered as a specific unit in undergraduate chemistry degree courses. At Curtin University of Technology, a dedicated unit in polymer science forms an integral part of the undergraduate Applied Chemistry degree course. It has been necessary to reduce some of the more traditional academic topics to accommodate the macromolecular chemistry. This has scarcely detracted from the organic component of the course and is more than compensated in terms of polymer reaction mechanisms, aspects of polymer stereochemistry, and an extension of structure-property relationships applied to very large molecules. The polymer chemistry unit also includes other broader aspects of polymer science, where an attempt is made to relate the physical and mechanical properties of polymeric materials to molecular structure. Six carefully selected polymer science experiments have been included in the organic chemistry laboratory course; they include searching questions aimed at challenging the student's ability to carry out a literature search on polymer topics. A knowledge of the principles of polymer science is essential for graduates whose future career is certain to bring them into contact with a broad range of polymeric materials. Any undergraduate chemistry course that omits polymer chemistry and does not attempt to address and explain the principles of polymer science is lacking in relevant educational content as we approach the 21st century.
Supplement
A description of the exercises with post-laboratory questions can be accessed as a pdf file using Adobe Acrobat. The material can also be accessed as a Microsoft Word document, which has been compressed into a sit file (for Macintosh) and a zip file (for Windows).
*  Contents
*  Download
supp232.pdf

supp232.sit

supp232.zip
More Information
*  Citation
 Jefferson, Alan; Phillips, David N. J. Chem. Educ. 1999 76 232.
*  Keywords
 Polymer Chemistry; Free Radicals; IR Spectroscopy; Synthesis; Polymer Chemistry; Organic Synthesis
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 June 15, 1999
November 22, 2005
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