Which term describes fibres made from man-made materials joined by polymerisation?

• A. Natural fibres
• B. Glass fibres
• C. Synthetic fibres
• D. Carbon fibres

Answer: (C)

Synthetic fibres are fibres produced from polymers created by polymerisation of monomers. The key idea is that these fibres come from man-made polymers, formed through chemical reactions that join many monomer units into long chains, which are then spun into filaments to make fibres. This is different from natural fibres, which come from plants or animals and aren’t made by polymerising monomers. Glass fibres are inorganic and made from silica, not polymers, so they don’t fit. Carbon fibres originate from polymer precursors and are then carbonized, but the broad label for fibres built from polymer chains through polymerisation is synthetic fibres.