Crude Oil and Hydrocarbons Flashcards
What is crude oil?
A mixture of a number of very large compounds
What is a mixture?
2 or more elements or compounds not chemically combined together, the chemical properties of each substance in the mixture are unchanged
How do you separate the substances in a mixture?
By physical methods, including distillation
What do most the compounds in crude oil consist of?
Molecules made up of hydrogen and carbon atoms only (hydrocarbons)
What are alkanes?
Saturated hydrocarbons
Name 4 alkanes
Methane, ethane, propane, butane
What can the many hydrocarbons in crude oil be separated into?
Fractions
What do fractions contain?
Molecules with a similar number of carbon atoms
What happens (simply) in fractional distillation?
Oil is evaporated and condenses at different temperatures
What do some properties of hydrocarbons depend on?
The size of their molecules
What do some of the properties of hydrocarbons influence?
How they are used as fuels
What 3 properties do small hydrocarbons have?
Low boiling point, less viscous, more flammable
What 3 properties do long hydrocarbons have?
High boiling point, more viscous, less flammable
