Materials Science/Polymers

Materials Science is a Division C event which tests knowledge of the properties and characteristics of various materials. For the 2018 season, the event will focus on polymers and plastics.

Organic Nomeclature
The most common system of naming organic compounds (hydrocarbons and derivative molecules) is the IUPAC system. You could also be tested on traditional names of some common compounds (such as styrene, vs. the IUPAC designation of ethenylbenzene), though this is less likely.

Parent Chain
The first step in naming an organic molecule is identifying the parent chain. This typically also involves noting any functional groups and determining their precedence. The parent chain is determined by three characteristics, in order of precedence:
 * 1) the chain that contains the largest number of the highest precedence functional group.
 * 2) the chain that contains the most double/triple bonds.
 * 3) the longest chain.

Once the parent chain is determined, it is named based on its length. This forms the stem of the molecule's name.

Only the most common names are listed above.

Substituents are attached to the stem as either prefixes or a suffix, and with associated location numbers.

Side chains
Side chains are hydrocarbons that branch off of the parent chain. They are named similarly to the parent chain except with -yl: