tensile strength
What tensile strength means in Chemistry A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definition of tensile strength
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain tensile strength in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: AQA
Kevlar's chains are aromatic and rigid, and they hydrogen bond into flat sheets that stack, giving a tensile strength greater than steel for the same mass.
Topics that use tensile strength
- Condensation polymers (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
- amino acid self-condensation
- Condensation polymerisation
- deducing monomers
- difunctional monomers
- ester and amide links
- fibres and mouldings
- hydrogen bonding between chains
- permanent dipole-dipole forces
Using tensile strength in the exam
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