T7: organic chemistry Flashcards
(105 cards)
What is a hydrocarbon?
any compound that is formed from carbon and hydrogen atoms only.
What is the simplest type of hydrocarbon you can get?
Alkane
What is the formula for alkanes?
C(n)H(2n+2)
What is a homologous series?
a group of organic compounds that all react in a similar way and have similar/shared properties as they have the same functional group.
Are alkanes saturated or unsaturated compounds?
Alkanes are saturated compounds- each carbon atom forms four single covalent bonds: C-C single bonds.
What are the first 4 alkanes and what are their formulas
1) Methane (CH(4))
2) Ethane (C(2)H(6))
3) Propane (C(3)H(8))
4) Butane (C(4)H(10))
(Monkeys Eat Peanut Butter)
What happens to a hydrocarbon when the length of the carbon chain changes?
As the length of the carbon chain changes, the properties of the hydrocarbon change.
What are the properties that change in hydrocarbons and what are they like in shorter length carbon chains?
1) The shorter the carbon chain, the more runny a hydrocarbon is; LESS VISCOUS.
2) The shorter the carbon chain, the more volatile the hydrocarbon; LOWER BOILING POINTS.
3) The shorter the carbon chain, the more FLAMMABLE the hydrocarbon is.
What does the properties of hydrocarbons affect?
- affects how they are used for fuels.
e.g. short chain hydrocarbon with lower boiling points are used as “bottled gases”- stored under pressure as liquids in bottles.
When does complete combustion occur?
when there is plenty of oxygen present.
What happens in the complete combustion of hydrocarbons (give the equation)?
The complete combustion of any hydrocarbon in oxygen releases lots of energy.
hydrocarbon + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water
In complete combustion what is oxidised?
the carbon and hydrogen from the hydrocarbon.
Why are hydrocarbons used as fuels?
due to the amount of energy released when they combust completely.
What is crude oil?
crude oil is a fossil fuel.
How is crude oil formed?
- It’s formed from the remains of plants and animals (ancient biomass), mainly plankton, that died millions of years ago and were buried in mud.
- Over millions of years, with high temperature and pressure, the remains turn into crude oil, which can be drilled up from the rocks where it’s found.
What are 3 fossil fuels?
natural gas, oil and coal.
What are fossil fuels called non renewable fuels?
as they take so long to make that they are being used up much faster than they’re being formed. They are finite resources- one day they’ll run out.
What is crude oil? (in terms of hydrocarbons)
Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, most of which are alkanes.
How are the different compounds in crude oil separated?
fractional distillation.
What are the steps for fractional distillation of hydrocarbons?
1) The oil is heated until most of it has turned into a gas. The gases enter a fractionating column and the liquid bit is drained off.
2) In the column there is a temperature gradient; at the bottom it is hot and it gets cooler as you go up.
3) The longer hydrocarbons have high boiling points so they condense back into liquids and drain out of the column early on, when they’re near the bottom. The shorter hydrocarbons have lower boiling points so they condense and drain out much later on, near to the top of the column where it is cooler.
4) You end up with the crude oil mixture separated out into different fractions. Each fraction contains a mixture of hydrocarbons that all contain a similar number of carbon atoms, so have similar boiling points.
What are the different fractions and what is the approximate number of carbons in the hydrocarbons in that fraction?
- Liquefied petroleum gas (3)
- Petrol (8)
- Kerosene (15)
- Diesel (20)
- Heavy fuel oil (40)
- Bitumen
What is liquefied petroleum gases mostly consisting of?
propane and butane.
What are the uses for each fraction of crude oil?
- LPG (fuel for domestic cooking and heating and in vehicles)
- Petrol (fuel for cars)
- Kerosene (fuel for aircrafts)
- Diesel (fuel for cars and trains)
- Heavy fuel oil ( fuel for ships and power stations and can this can be heating oil, fuel oil or lubricating oil).
- Bitumen (for roads and roofs)
Why is crude oil important in the petrochemical industry?
The petrochemical industry uses some of the hydrocarbons from crude oil as feedstock to make new compounds for use in things like solvents, detergents, lubricants and polymers.