Q 01/05

Which everyday product uses sodium polyacrylate, a polymer that soaks up hundreds of times its weight in water?

A) Paper towels

B) Baby diapers

C) Kitchen sponges

D) Cotton balls

Answer · why

B) Baby diapers

Baby diapers became ultra-thin once this polymer let makers use only a fraction of the bulky fluff pulp. The powder swells into a gel as it drinks.

Q 02/05

Rubber got its English name after chemist Joseph Priestley noticed the material was good at removing what?

A) Ink stains

B) Candle wax

C) Grease stains

D) Pencil marks

Answer · why

D) Pencil marks

Pencil marks had been erased with crustless bread until then, so a springy lump that rubbed them off paper was simply called a rubber.

Q 03/05

Which synthetic polymer, first sold as toothbrush bristles in 1938, later caused shop stampedes when used for stockings?

A) Nylon

B) Rayon

C) Acetate

D) Modal

Answer · why

A) Nylon

Nylon stockings sold 64 million pairs in their first year, then vanished from shops as wartime production switched to parachutes and tents.

Q 04/05

Which slippery polymer, discovered by accident by DuPont chemist Roy Plunkett, now coats non-stick frying pans?

A) Tyvek

B) Nomex

C) Teflon

D) Corian

Answer · why

C) Teflon

Teflon turned up when a bottle of gas meant for making refrigerants stopped flowing; sawn open, it was lined with a waxy white solid that was oddly sl...

Q 05/05

Which polymer fibre, developed by DuPont chemist Stephanie Kwolek in 1965, is woven into bullet-resistant vests?

A) Dyneema

B) Kevlar

C) Vectran

D) Zylon

Answer · why

B) Kevlar

Kevlar is five times stronger than steel for its weight, yet its first commercial job was replacing steel in racing tires.