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Someone who wants something to do could work on the [wiki]Materials Science/Polymers[/wiki], which is currently empty.

There's definitely relevant information currently on the Materials Science Wiki that can be moved, and then replaced by one of those "for more information about polymers please see such and such wiki" statements.

I've updated the wiki page with a basic outline, which should hopefully help get some of you started on making the wiki more complete.

I looked at the wiki just to see what this event was and I must say that is a lot more than a basic outline. Good job!

For lab part of the event, what are some possible labs that they could make us do? I talked to my chemistry teacher about this and he said most of the polymer labs are kinda too nasty. What I am thinking is that they would make us do a lab from part b of the event description such as Young's modulus, viscosity, and Poisson's ratio because they are easier to do.

d4dd7y00n wrote:For lab part of the event, what are some possible labs that they could make us do? I talked to my chemistry teacher about this and he said most of the polymer labs are kinda too nasty. What I am thinking is that they would make us do a lab from part b of the event description such as Young's modulus, viscosity, and Poisson's ratio because they are easier to do.

Polymer labs aren't really out of the equation per say- Yale ran one last year but it wasn't really a lab practical? You'll see if you look at their tests; it was an odd one. Most labs are geared towards the physical side of Materials Science but with the focus on polymers this year... who knows. There are definitely polymer labs that can be run for this event but they would be quite challenging for any competitor. This could include anything from polymerization to comparing specific polymers and maybe IDing them (heh Materials Science seems to expand even more!) Good luck

So, I'm kinda new to this event. Do you guys have any suggestions on a good place to start preparing?

Torterra wrote:So, I'm kinda new to this event. Do you guys have any suggestions on a good place to start preparing?

I think you should start with nomenclature

Ok, thanks. I'll do that.

d4dd7y00n wrote:

Torterra wrote:So, I'm kinda new to this event. Do you guys have any suggestions on a good place to start preparing?

I think you should start with nomenclature

Since this year's theme is polymers, you should start with the o-chem side of the event to know what you're looking at once you get to monomers. Even though you shouldn't see any reactions until state, I would recommend learning them anyway (the ones to get monomers, then the ones making polymer chains) so the event is not brute memorization.

Past that, you should spend some time learning about how polymers are characterized. There are several tests that are normal practice (i.e. tensile and flexural modulus, TGA, etc.), and you should definitely learn those in case they show up in the experimental section. You should also learn how these properties are applied for materials selection purposes and then the applications of common polymers, referencing their properties.