Cracking Hydrocarbons

Question 1

Why is cracking carried out?

Answer 1

Long-chain hydrocarbons from thick gloopy liquids like tar which aren’t very useful. For this reason we carry out cracking so that the long molecules produced from distillation turn into smaller ones which are used for many different purposes.

Question 2

What are the first 5 alkenes?

Answer 2

Ethene
Propene
Butene
Pentene
Hexene

Question 3

How can you test if alkene is present?

Answer 3

By adding the substance to bromine water.
An alkene will decolourise the bromine water, turning it from orange to colourless. This is because the double double bond has opened up and formed bonds with the bromine.

Question 4

What is the definition of cracking?

Answer 4

Cracking is a thermal decomposition reaction-breaking molecules down by heating them

Question 5

What is the definition of a monomer?

Answer 5

A molecule that can be bonded to other identical molecules to form a polymer

Question 6

What is the definition of a polymer?

Answer 6

A substance which has a molecular structure built up completely from a large number of smaller units bonded together

Question 7

What is an example of what can be used as a monomer?

Answer 7

Alkenes

Question 8

What odd you always uses in an equation in cracking hydrocarbons?

Answer 8

C2H4