Q.What are addition and condensation polymers? Give one example of each.

Polymerization converts small, reactive monomers into a single high molecular mass polymer joined by covalent bonds, through one of three distinct mechanisms. Addition (chain-growth) polymerization simply adds monomer units, one after another, to a growing chain without losing any small molecule, so the repeating unit keeps exactly the same elemental composition as the monomer; it happens with monomers carrying a C=C double bond (also called vinyl polymerization) and most often proceeds by a free-radical chain mechanism in three steps -- chain initiation (an initiator such as benzoyl or acetyl peroxide decomposes to generate a free radical), chain propagation (that radical adds rapidly to one monomer after another, building a large radical), and chain termination (most commonly, two growing radical chains combine, ending chain growth). Condensation (step-growth) polymerization instead builds the chain through a series of condensation reactions between polyfunctional monomers, each step eliminating a small molecule such as water, HCl, methanol or ammonia, so the repeating unit's elemental composition differs from that of the starting monomers -- terylene, formed from ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid …