ABSTRACT
A monomer is the original molecular form from which a polymer is produced. A polymer consists of repeating molecular units which usually are held together by covalent bonds. The terms polymer and plastic are often used interchangeably, but polymers are a much larger class of molecules which includes plastics, plus many other materials, such as cellulose, amber, and natural rubber. Polymerization is the process by which polymers are manufactures and during the polymerization process, some chemical groups may be lost from each monomer and the polymer does not always retain the chemical properties or the reactivity of the monomer unit. A plastic is a type of polymer—all plastics are polymers but not all polymers are plastics. Polymers can be fibers, elastomers, or adhesives and plastics are a wide group of solid composite materials that are largely organic, usually based on synthetic resins or modified polymers of natural origin, and possess appreciable mechanical strength.
