Summary
Because polymers are such large molecules, they really can take on nearly infinite dramatically different conformations, which makes it difficult to fully describe their conformation at any given time. But we can use the concepts of end to end distances and chain stiffness to help us describe the conformations of polymers and to compare properties across different chemical structures. These same concepts are going to still be useful in our next lesson, Lesson 10, where we will begin to learn about thermodynamics of polymers in solution. We will need to start to take into account interactions between polymers and solvent, and figure out how those interactions actually affect polymer conformations and the properties of polymer solutions.
Reminder - Complete all of the Lesson 9 tasks!
You have reached the end of Lesson 9! Review the checklist on the Lesson 9 Overview / Checklist page to make sure you have completed all of the activities listed there before you begin Lesson 10.