Q.Is synthetic rubber better than natural rubber ? If so, in what respect?

Step 1. Natural rubber (cis-polyisoprene) has good elasticity from its loosely coiled, weakly-held chains, but it is not resistant to oils, fuels, strong heat or prolonged light exposure, and its supply depends on rubber-tree cultivation.

Step 2. Buna-S (SBR), a synthetic butadiene-styrene copolymer, is explicitly noted to be superior to natural rubber in mechanical strength and abrasion resistance, which is exactly why the tyre industry relies on it rather than natural rubber alone.

Step 3. Neoprene, a synthetic chloroprene polymer, is particularly resistant to petroleum, vegetable oils, light and heat -- properties natural rubber lacks -- making it the right choice for gasoline hose pipes, gaskets, cable jackets and power-transmission belts, applications where natural rubber would degrade quickly.

Step 4. So synthetic rubber is 'better' only in these specific, application-driven respects (abrasion resistance for Buna-S; chemical/heat/light resistance for neoprene) -- it is not a blanket claim that synthetic rubber outperforms natural rubber in every property such as basic elasticity.

Compare natural rubber against the two synthetic rubbers named in the chapter (Buna-S, neoprene) on the specific properties the text explicitly credits to each.

• Giving a blanket 'yes, synthetic is always better' answer without naming the specific properties (abrasion resistance; oil/heat/light resistance) where this is actually true.