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elastic
a material that returns to its original shape and size after a deforming force is removed.
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plastics
a compound produced by polymerisation, capable of being moulded into various shapes or drawn into filaments and used as textile fibres
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fibres
a long thin thread or filament
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Melting point (mp)
The temperature at which a solid becomes a liquid (melts). It is the same temperature as the freezing point.
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tensile strength
a measure of resistance of a solid to a pulling or stretching force
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compressive strength
a measure of resistance to squeezing or crushing forces
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stiffness
a measure of the resistance of a solid to bending forces
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hardness
a measure of resistance to change in shape of a solid, for example by scratching or by impact
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dencity
the mass of a substance per unit volume
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true value
a theoretical value that could be found if measurements could be made without error
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crude oil
black substance extracted from earth, from which petrol and many other products are made
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Hydrocarbons
Organic compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen only
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Alkanes
A class of hydrocarbons in which the atoms are connected only by single bonds.
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fractional distillation
the separation of the components in a liquid mixture into fractions which differ in boiling points.
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Condensed
the change state from a gas to a liquid
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fraction
a specific section of a product formed by fractional distillation
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Polymer
A very large molecule that is composed of many small, repeating structural units.
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Monomer
The small organic molecule that is repeated many times in a polymer.
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polymerisation
chemical process that combines monomers to form a polymer
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crystalline
a solid material with atoms, molecules or ions arranged in a regular repeating pattern
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plasticiser
a substance used to soften plastics and increse flexibility
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thermoplastic
plastic with a shape that can be changed by heating
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cross-links
bonds that link one polymer chain to another
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thermosetting
plastic with a shape that becomes perminant after heating or cooling
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Nanometre
a unit of length 1,000000000 times smaller than a metre
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Nanoparticle
a very tiny particle, whose size can be measured in nanometers
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nanotechnology
particles or structures between 1 and 100nm in size, containing a few hundred atoms
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nanotube
a carbon molecule in the form of a cylinder
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Catalyst
A substance that increases the rate of reaction by lowering the activation energy.
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composite
material consisting of a mixture of other materials
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