Hydrocarbons Flashcards
(46 cards)
why is carbon important and what is organic chemistry?
90% of compounds contain carbon.
Compounds containing carbon are the basis of all living things.
Organic chemistry is the chemistry of all compounds containing carbon (except carbonates and hydrogen carbonates).
what are hydrocarbons and are they polar or non-polar?
Only contain hydrogen and carbon.
Non-polar because there is no great difference between them.
what is crude oil and how is it formed? how is it used? What changes does it undergo? What does this create and what are they used for?
Fossil fuels come from plant and animal remains.
Over million years it has been affected by high temperatures and pressures and have become hydrocarbons.
A mixture of hydrocarbons is called crude oil.
Not used in raw state.
Undergoes fractional distillation which separates it into different components called fractions.
The fractions have similar boiling points and molecular masses.
Fractions are used as fuels.
Heavier fractions are broken down to smaller more useful molecules in a process called cracking.
what are homologous series? what are three?
Hydrocarbons are grouped into families that have similar structures and properties but differ in size.
A family is called a homologous series.
Three are alkanes, alkenes and alkynes.
what are alkanes? polarity? solubility? what forces hold them together? what is the first in the series? saturation?
Joined by single covalent bonds.
Remaining bonds are to hydrogen.
Non-polar.
Insoluble in water.
Only intermolecular force is dispersion forces.
First in the series is methane.
Naming system has been developed with prefixes that indicate the number of carbons. Alkanes are unsaturated hydrocarbons- only single bonds between carbons and therefore have a max number of hydrogens around each carbon.
what are the prefixes?
meth- eth- prop- but- pent- hex- hept- Oct- Non- Dec-
what is the general formula for alkanes?
Cn H2n + 2
how reactive are alkanes? what reactions they undergo?
Fairly un reactive but used for fuel.
Reaction between hydrocarbon and oxygen is a combustion reaction.
If oxygen supply is plentiful carbon dioxide and water will be produced- complete combustion.
what are semi-structural or condensed formulas?
Semi-structural formula or condensed structural formula- symbols without lines.
what are structural isomers?
Some molecular formula but different structures
how can isomers differ in boiling temperature?
Both non-polar therefore both have dispersion forces holding them together.
One is linear which means the molecules can get closer together making the dispersion forces stronger. This is why a linear one has higher boiling and melting temperatures than a branched one.
what are the 6 steps for naming branches?
Identify the longest unbranched carbon chain.
Number the carbon atoms in the chain from the end that will give the smallest number to branching groups.
Name the alkyl groups after the alkane from which they derived.
Place the number and position of each of the alkyl groups at the beginning of the name.
If two identical chains are present, use di- or tri- for three.
If there are alkyl side chains of different length on the molecules, list them in alphabetical order at the start of the name, with their numbers to indicate their respective positions.
what are alkenes? what is the first one? what is their polarity and solubility and how is their bond indicated in the name?
Ethene is the first member of the homologous series containing one carbon to carbon double bond.
Hydrocarbons that have multiple bonds between carbons are called unsaturated.
They are non-polar and do not dissolve in water.
The position of the double bond is indicated with a number.
how do alkenes undergo combustion reactions?
Undergo complete combustion when there is plenty of oxygen.
Alkene + oxygen ——> carbon dioxide + water
how do alkenes undergo addition reactions?
Readily under go these reactions.
Lose their double bond to form a saturated molecule.
how can an alkene be tested?
If a substance reacts with bromine (orange) and bromine loses its colour, it is an alkene, if not, it is a saturated molecule and no change occurs.
what are alkynes and what is the simplest one?
One triple carbon-carbon bond.
The simplest is ethyne: C2H2
what is the formula for alkynes?
CnH2n - 2
what are cyclic and aromatic compounds? what are they made up of? what is their structure based on? what are some properties? what are their bonds like? saturation? what are they used for?
A chain of carbons in a ring (cyclic).
Aromatic compounds have aromas.
The structure is based on a benzene ring C6H6- simplest aromatic compound.
non-polar solvent.
Toxic.
Used to manufacture polymers, drugs and dyes
Benzene is a planar molecule.
Each carbon-carbon bond is identical and has properties consistent with a bond half way between a double and single bond.
Benzene is unsaturated.
what is a planar molecule?
All molecules with angular; trigonal or lineal geometries
what are properties of hydrocarbons with reference to methane, propane, petrol and lubricating oils? which ones are gases, liquids or solids. How do boiling points change and what is volatility?
Methane is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas.
Major component of natural gas.
Propane and butane are the main components of bottled gas.
Petrol is a mixture of many hydrocarbons.
Lubricating oils and waves have much longer carbon chains.
C1-C4 are gases
C5-C15 are liquids
C16 onwards are solids
Boiling point increases with number of carbons but volatility decreases.
volatility: a measure of how easily liquids evaporate.
The vapour above the liquids is the bit that burns- more volatile, more flammable.
why do boiling temperatures increase as the molecular size of alkanes increase?
Larger molecules have more electrons and therefore greater dispersion forces which take more energy to overcome.
why are larger molecules more viscous?
Larger molecules are more viscous or thick because the long chains become tangled.
how are alkenes and alkanes similar in trends?
Alkenes follow similar trends to alkanes but with slight variation between the alkane and the alkene with the same number of carbons.