organic chemistry Flashcards
what does the prefix tell
the prefix tells you how many carbon atoms are present in the longest continues chain in the compound
what does the suffix tell you
- ane: compound is an alkane
- ene: compound is an alkene
- ol: alcohol
- oic acid: carboxylic acid
what is a hydrocarbon
any substance that contains only carbon and hydrogen
what is catenation
the self linking ability of atoms
what is the catenation of carbon
one carbon molecule can make up to 4 bonds
what are the fossil fuels
crude oil, oil and natural gas
what do fuels do
fuels release energy upon being burned
what does natural gas consist of
methane
what does petroleum consist of
petroleum is essentially crude oil and is a mixture of hydrocarbons that can be seperated into its useful fractions by fractional distillation
fractional distillation of petroleum process
- petroleum is heated and turned into a gas before it is sent to the fractionating column to remove its impurities
- the molecules in each fraction have similar properties and boiling points, which depend on the number of carbon atoms in the chain
- the boiling point and viscosity of each fraction increases as the carbon chain gets longer
- temperature increased down the fractionating column because more energy is needed to break the longer carbon chains
what is a homologous series
a series or family of organic compounds that have similar features and chemical properties due to them having the same functional group
general characteristics of homologous series
- compounds have the same functional group
- they have the same general formula
- the have similar chemical properties
- they have different physical properties
- there is a difference of a CH2 group between consecutive members of a homologous series
what are structural isomers
compounds that have the same molecular formula but different structural formulae due to the different arrangement of their atoms
what are the two types of structural isomers
chain and position
what is chain isomerism
when the structure of the carbon chain diffrs
what is position isomerism
when the postion of the functional group differs
what is the general formula for alkanes
CnH2n+2
what are alkanes
alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons which means that they do not have any carbon double bonds or rather they all have single bonds
names and formulas of alkanes
http://www.sparknotes.com/chemistry/organic2/alkanes/section1/
combustion of alkanes
alkanes are generally unreactive, however they undergo combustion when they are burned with oxygen, this produces carbon dioxide and water and releases energy
what is the general formula of alkenes
general formula : CnH2n
functional group of alkenes
C=C (double bond)
what are alkenes
they are unsaturated hydrocarbons
difference between alkane and alkene
-molecular structure: saturated hydrocarbons have no double bonds in their structure while unsaturated hydrocarbons have at least one C=C double bond
how to test for differences between saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons
aqueous bromine water: When added to unsaturated hydrocarbons, the colour of the solution changes from orange to colourless/ The bromine atoms add across the C=C double bond hence the solution no longer contains the orange colours bromine. THis is called bromination. On the other hand, when added to saturated hydrocarbons, there is no colour change
what is cracking of alkanes
- cracking of larger alkanes is done because lower alkanes and alkenes are more useful
- cracking of larger alkanes produces an alkene and can produce lower alkanes and hydrogen gas as well
what kind of reaction is cracking
cracking is both thermal and catalytic. This means it requires heat and a catalyst. This process breaks covalent bonds in the molecules, causing thermal decomposition reactions
addition reaction of alkenes with bromine water
when added to alkenes, the colour of the solution changes from orange to colourless. The bromine atoms add across the C=C double bond and hence the solution no longer contains the orange coloured bromine
addition reaction of alkenes with hydrogen
- alkenes also undergo addition reactions with hydrogen in which an alkane is formed
- these are hydrogenation reactions and occur at 200C using a nickel catalyst
addition reaction of alkenes with steam
alekens also undergo addition reactions with steam in which an alcohol is formed SInce water is being added to the molecule it is also called a hydration reaction. THe reaction occurs in the following conditions: (temperature: 350C pressure: 60-70atm catalyst: concentrated phosphoric acid)