eli5: Why do some chemical compounds have “poly” in the name?

238 views

I understand that poly means “many” or something along those lines. But whenever I hear something with poly in the name it feels like it gives literally no additional info other than it has two or more of something. Is it more than a specified number? I’m confused.

In: 0

5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

**P**oly **v**inyl **c**hloride = repetition of [vinyl (two carbons in a single bond) chloride (with a chlorine atom attached to one of the carbons] = **PVC**

You are viewing 1 out of 5 answers, click here to view all answers.