hydrocarbons

• What type of resource is crude oil?

  Non-renewable (finite) resource
• How is crude oil formed?

  From fossilised remains of ancient plankton
• Where is crude oil found?

  In rocks
• What is crude oil used to produce?

  Fuels and other important chemicals
• What is crude oil primarily composed of?

  A mixture of different compounds
• What are the main components of crude oil?

  Most compounds are hydrocarbons
• How do hydrocarbons differ?

  In their size, affecting their properties
• What are hydrocarbons made of?

  Only hydrogen and carbon atoms
• What is fractional distillation?

  A process to separate crude oil into fractions
• What are fractions in the context of crude oil?

  Groups of hydrocarbons with similar carbon atoms
• What is the formula for the compounds in fractions?

  CnH2n+2 for alkanes
• Why does fractional distillation work?

  Different-sized hydrocarbons have different boiling points
• What happens to crude oil during evaporation in fractional distillation?

  It is heated until it evaporates
• Where is crude oil vapor introduced during fractional distillation?

  At the bottom of the fractionating column
• Where do short-chain hydrocarbons condense in the column?

  At lower temperatures nearer the top
• What happens to long-chain hydrocarbons in the fractionating column?

  They condense at the bottom and are collected
• What are common end products of the fractions collected?

  Fuels like petrol and diesel
• How does the petrochemical industry use fractions?

  As feedstock to make solvents and lubricants
• What are the steps of fractional distillation?

  1. Crude oil is heated until it evaporates.
  2. Crude oil vapor enters the fractionating column.
  3. Long-chain hydrocarbons condense at the bottom.
  4. Short-chain hydrocarbons rise and condense at the top.
  5. Fractions are collected for further processing.