Polymers and Monomers

by Greg Crowther

This jingle was originally written for Biology 242 and 352 at UW-Bothell. Its simple goal is to help students understand the terms polymer and monomer in the context of digestion.

CHORUS:
Polymers go on and on....
(Polymers go on and on....)
Polymers go on and on....
But monomers are not that long.
(Monomers are not that long.)

There are polymers in the digestive tract,
And they get cut to bits. We can be glad for that,
Since uncut polymers are not absorbed...
But your cells can build some more!
Yes, your cells can build some more!

CHORUS

• MP3 (demo)

• sheet music (with melody play-back)

Songs like this one can be used during class meetings and/or in homework assignments. Either way, the song will be most impactful if students DO something with it, as opposed to just listening.

An initial, simple follow-up activity could be to answer the study questions below. A more extensive interaction with the song might entail (A) learning to sing it, using an audio file and/or sheet music as a guide, and/or (B) illustrating it with pictures, bodily poses, and/or bodily movements. The latter activity could begin with students identifying the most important or most challenging content of the song, and deciding how to illustrate that particular content.

(1) What is the general definition of a polymer?

(2) What are examples of polymers found in your food, and the monomers that get absorbed in the intestine?