(4) Polymer Explanation: Bakelite is the commercial name for the polymer obtained by the polymerization of phenol and formaldehyde. It is an early plastic. Plastic (from the Greek "plastikos," meaning moldable) is the popular term for a variety of synthetic, or manmade, polymers. Bakelite was developed by the BelgianAmerican chemist Leo Baekeland in New York in 1907.