C7 - Organic Chemistry Flashcards
Define a hydrocarbon
a compound containing carbon and hydrogen only
What happens as you increase the chain length of a hydrocarbon?
- becomes more viscous
- higher boiling points
- less flammable
- dark in colour
- less volatile
- less useful
Describe how fractional distillation works
- oil is heated and evaporated until most of it is a gas
- the gas rises through a fractionating column
- the long hydrocarbons have high boiling points so they condense back to liquids near the bottom
- the shorter hydrocarbons have lower boiling points so they condense higher in the column where it’s cooler
- crude oil mixture will be separated into different fractions
Define a saturated hydrocarbon
single carbon bonds only
(C-C)
Define alkanes
they are a group of saturated hydrocarbons - the simplest type of hydrocarbon
What is the general formula of an alkane?
C(n) H (2n+2)
Name the first 4 alkanes
1) methane
2) ethane
3) propane
4) butane
What happens to the flammability as the length of the hydrocarbon chain increases?
the flammability decreases because smaller molecules evaporate easily and the vapour burns
What happens to the volatility as the length of the hydrocarbon chain increases?
the volatility decreases because the intermolecular forces are stronger so it requires more energy to break which means they have higher boiling points making them less volatile
What happens to the viscosity (thickness) as the length of the hydrocarbon chain increases?
the viscosity increases because the intermolecular forces are stronger and longer chain hydrocarbons get more tangled which means more viscous
Define an alkene
a hydrocarbon that has 1 double covalent bond (C=C) between two carbon atoms - they are unsaturated
What is the general formula for alkenes?
C (n) H (2n)
Name the first 4 alkenes
1) ethene
2) propene
3) butene
4) pentene
How do you test if a substance is an alkane or an alkene?
add bromine water
- if it remains orange = alkane
- if it becomes colourless = alkene
Define cracking
breaking down a long hydrocarbon chain into an alkane and alkene
Describe the process of cracking
- vaporise them
- mix them with steam
- heat them to a very high temperature
(called steam cracking)
What are the 2 things you need for cracking?
- heat (to vaporise the hydrocarbons)
- catalyst (to increase the rate of the reaction)
What is the word equation for the complete combustion of hydrocarbons?
hydrocarbon + oxygen –> carbon dioxide + water
What is the word equation for the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons?
hydrocarbon + oxygen –> carbon monoxide + water
When would complete/incomplete combustion occur?
complete - in a high oxygen supply
incomplete - in a low oxygen supply
Define a monomer
a small molecule that can be joined together to form a polymer
Define a polymer
long chain molecule made up of lots of monomer molecules