Fossil Fuels and Hydrocarbons Lecture Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the formation, properties, uses, and environmental impacts of fossil fuels and hydrocarbons.

Fossil fuels

Non-renewable energy resources formed from the remains of ancient plants and marine organisms that lived millions of years ago.

Coal

A fossil fuel mainly formed from ancient plants found in swampy environments.

Crude oil and natural gas

Fossil fuels formed mainly from microscopic marine organisms such as plankton.

Non-renewable resources

Resources that humans use much faster than they can naturally be replaced, as they take millions of years to form.

Organic matter

Material that comes from living organisms.

Plankton

Microscopic marine organisms whose remains sinks to the bottom of ancient oceans to eventually form oil and natural gas.

Hydrocarbons

Compounds made only of hydrogen and carbon atoms.

Alkanes

Saturated hydrocarbons containing only single covalent bonds, represented by the general formula $C_nH_{2n+2}$.

Methane

An alkane with the chemical formula $CH_4$.

Ethane

An alkane with the chemical formula $C_2H_6$.

Propane

An alkane with the chemical formula $C_3H_8$.

Butane

An alkane with the chemical formula $C_4H_{10}$.

Viscosity

The resistance of a fluid to flow; long-chain hydrocarbons have high viscosity.

Volatility

A property describing how easily a liquid evaporates.

Flammability

A property referring to how easily a substance burns; short-chain hydrocarbons burn more easily because molecules vaporize easily.

Fractional distillation

The process used to separate crude oil into useful fractions based on differences in boiling points.

Refinery gases

A fraction of crude oil used for LPG and cooking gas.

Petrol

A fraction of crude oil used as fuel for cars.

Naphtha

A fraction of crude oil used in the chemical industry.

Kerosene

A fraction of crude oil used as jet fuel.

Fuel oil

A fraction of crude oil used for ships and power stations.

Bitumen

A highly viscous fraction of crude oil containing very large hydrocarbon molecules used for roads and roofing.

Combustion

An exothermic reaction of hydrocarbons with oxygen.

Complete combustion

A reaction occurring when oxygen is abundant, producing carbon dioxide and water, characterized by a blue flame.

Incomplete combustion

A reaction occurring when oxygen is limited, producing carbon monoxide and soot.

Carbon monoxide

A poisonous gas that binds strongly to hemoglobin in red blood cells, preventing oxygen transport.

Soot

Tiny carbon particles produced during incomplete combustion that cause respiratory diseases and air pollution.

Greenhouse effect

The process in which gases like carbon dioxide and methane trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere.

Sulfur dioxide

A gas produced by sulfur impurities in fuels during combustion that reacts with water vapor to form acid rain ($SO_2 + H_2O \rightarrow H_2SO_3$).

Carbon capture

Technology that removes carbon dioxide from power station emissions before release into the atmosphere.

Biofuels

Renewable fuels made from plant material that have lower net carbon emissions.