know the terminology:
macromolecules, monomer, oligomer, repeat unit
degree of polymerization, monodisperse, polydisperse
number-average molecular weight, weight-average molecular weight
linear, branched, network, crosslinked, comb, ladder polymers
addition, condensation polymer
step-growth, chain-growth polymerization
crystalline, amorphous domains, glassy polymers, Tm, Tg
thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers
high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene
isotactic, syndiotactic, atactic
chain transfer
Ziegler-Natta catalyst, "living" polymerization
distinguish between chain-growth and step-growth polymerizations
describe how the observable physical properties of polymers relate to the molecular-level structure
identify the polymer that would arise from a given monomer or monomers
identify the monomers that constitute a given polymer
identify the likely reactions used to create a given polymer
create appropriate names for a polymer based on its monomer(s)
write mechanisms for chain-growth or step-growth polymerizations
compare and contrast the features and behaviors of chain-growth and step-growth polymerization reactions