PVC is commonly used to manufacture pipes.
Polyvinylchloride or PVC is created by the polymerization of vinyl chloride units. The resulting molecular structure is a chain of PVC molecules that produces one of the most useful and cheapest polymers currently in use worldwide. PVC can be found in literally thousands of items from plastic pipes to automobiles and every industry between. Creating a three-dimensional PVC molecule is very simple and is sure to catch the eye of teachers, professors and scientists alike.
Instructions
1. Gum drops are useful in creating 3D models of molecules.
Choose and separate three colors of gum drops. Three of each color will suffice to complete this task. In this example we will use white, green and red gum drops.
2. Create a PVC molecule in two linear shapes that are then brought together in an "H" shape. Place a single green gumdrop on one end of a toothpick and a white gumdrop on the other end. Placed another toothpick in the other side of the white gumdrop and attach a red gumdrop to the opposite end of the pick. This will be the left leg of the "H" shape of the molecule. The green gumdrop now represents a chlorine atom, the white represents a carbon atom and the red represents a hydrogen atom.
3. Build the second leg of the "H" shaped PVC molecule by placing a red (hydrogen) gumdrop on a toothpick then piercing the other end of the pick into a white (carbon) drop. Place another toothpick into the other side of the white gumdrop and affix another red (hydrogen) gumdrop to the other end. This will create the right leg of the "H" shape.
4. Attach the two legs of the "H" shape together using a single toothpick through the center white (carbon) gumdrops. The "H" shape should now be complete with a left leg consisting of a green, white and red gumdrop from top to bottom and a red, white and another red gumdrop from top to bottom on the right.
5. Mark the finished atoms with their element abbreviation using the permanent marker. The green gumdrops, which are chlorine atoms in this example, should be marked "Cl." The white gumdrops, which are carbon atoms, should be marked "C." Finally, the red gumdrops, which represent hydrogen, should be marked "H." This will help onlookers understand the molecular atomic structure of your three-dimensional PVC model. These completed molecules can be made multiple times and connected in a chain to show how the molecules create a chain of this widely used polymer.
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