C7 (Organic Chemistry) Flashcards
What is crude oil?
Crude oil is a fossil fuel that is found underground in rocks. It was formed over millions of years from the remains of seas creatures, mainly plankton.
What is meant by a finite resource?
A resource that can not be replaced once it has been used. Being used quicker than being replaced.
What is biomass?
A resource made from living or recently living creatures.
What is a hydrocarbon?
A compound containing hydrogen and carbon atoms only.
Crude oil is a form of…
Biomass.
What is meant by the displayed formula?
Drawing of a molecule showing all atoms and bonds
What is the homologous series?
A family of compounds with the same general formula the same functional group and similar chemical properties.
What are alkanes?
A homologous series of saturated hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2.
What is the general formula for alkanes?
CnH2n+2
What is a structural formula?
When writing a structural formula, you must go to each carbon and write down what is attached to each one. For example, CH3CH2CH3.
What is meant by saturated in organic chemistry?
A molecule that only contains single covalent bonds.
What are the first four alkanes in order of increasing?
Methane, ethane, propane, butane
What is fractional distillation?
A method used to separate miscible liquids with different boiling points.
What is a fraction?
A mixture of molecules with similar boiling points
Describe the process of fractional distillation?
The fraction in column is hot at the bottom and cold at the top. So longer hydrocarbons which have higher boiling points will condense and be drained off near the bottoms. Meanwhile, shorter hydrocarbons with lower boiling points will condense and be drained off further up the column.
As the carbon chain length increases…
Boiling point increases and molecules get smaller.
What is complete combustion?
When a substance burns with a good supply of oxygen.
What is incomplete combustion?
When a substance burns with a poor supply of oxygen.
During a combustion reaction, the atoms in the hydrocarbon are…
Oxidised as they combine with oxygen.
What is flammability?
How easily a substance catches fire; the more flammable the more it easily it catches fire.
What is this viscosity?
How a easily a substance flows; the higher the viscosity the less easily it flows.
Smaller alkanes have…
Lower boiling points, runny, easy to ignite, burns with clean flame.
Larger alkanes have…
Higher boiling points, viscous, harder to ignite, burns with smoky flame.
