In a sample of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), excessive "backbiting" during the free-radical polym — Polymers Chemistry Question
Question
In a sample of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), excessive "backbiting" during the free-radical polymerization results in approximately $30$ branches for every $500$ monomer units. For a single macromolecule chain containing exactly $5000$ monomeric ethene units, how many branches are statistically expected?
Answer: 300
💡 Solution & Explanation
If there are $30$ branches per $500$ units, the ratio is $30/500 = 0.06$. For a chain of $5000$ units, the expected number of branches is $5000 \times 0.06 = 300$.
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