AQA GCSE Chemistry Trilogy: Hydrocarbons and Alkanes
Hydrocarbons are compounds that contain hydrogen and carbon atoms only.
Crude oil is a finite resource that is found in the Earth’s crust.
It is the remains of organisms that lived and died millions of years ago - mainly plankton, which was buried in mud.
Crude oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons.
Used as -
Fuels such as petrol, diesel, kerosene, heavy fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gases
Feedstock for the petrochemical industry
Solvents
Lubricants
Detergents
A feedstock is a raw material used to provide reactants for an industrial reaction.
A petrochemical is a substance made from crude oil using chemical reactions.
Form a homologous series - A 'family' of organic compounds that have the same functional group and similar chemical properties. Alkanes:
have the same general formula
differ by CH2 in molecular formulae from neighbouring compounds
show a gradual variation in physical properties, such as their boiling points
have similar chemical properties
The general formula for the alkanes is CnH(2n+2), where n is the number of carbon atoms in the molecule.
Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons:
Hydrocarbons, because they are compounds containing hydrogen and carbon only
Saturated, because their carbon atoms are joined by C-C single bonds
Hydrocarbons are compounds that contain hydrogen and carbon atoms only.
Crude oil is a finite resource that is found in the Earth’s crust.
It is the remains of organisms that lived and died millions of years ago - mainly plankton, which was buried in mud.
Crude oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons.
Used as -
Fuels such as petrol, diesel, kerosene, heavy fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gases
Feedstock for the petrochemical industry
Solvents
Lubricants
Detergents
A feedstock is a raw material used to provide reactants for an industrial reaction.
A petrochemical is a substance made from crude oil using chemical reactions.
Form a homologous series - A 'family' of organic compounds that have the same functional group and similar chemical properties. Alkanes:
have the same general formula
differ by CH2 in molecular formulae from neighbouring compounds
show a gradual variation in physical properties, such as their boiling points
have similar chemical properties
The general formula for the alkanes is CnH(2n+2), where n is the number of carbon atoms in the molecule.
Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons:
Hydrocarbons, because they are compounds containing hydrogen and carbon only
Saturated, because their carbon atoms are joined by C-C single bonds