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The applet at left
employs the Flory distribution to model the weight average and number average
molecular weight distributions for step growth polymerizations. It is
therefore necessary to supply the values of M0, the
molecular weight per repeat unit, and p, the extent of reaction where
0 ≤ p < 1, in order to view the distributions. In addition to
the distributions, the applet calculates the average molecular weight for the
selected plot and also displays the polydispersity in the form <Mw>
/ <Mn> when both plots are selected.
Some things to
investigate:
- Are the shapes of the plots a
function of M0?
- Are the shapes of the plots a
function of p?
- What happens to the ratio
<Mw> / <Mn> (ie the
polydispersity) as p approaches 1 (100% completion)?
- What is the maximum value of
the polydispersity?
- Why are the shapes of the two
plots different?
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