Organic Chemistry

• Alcohols are organic compounds that contain a hydroxyl (-OH) group.
• Condensation polymerisation involves two monomers with the same/different functional groups
• For each new bond that is made, a small molecule, such as water, is lost.
• carboxylic acids react like any other acids when they react with carbonates to produce a salt, carbon dioxide and water.
• When carboxylic acids dissolve in water, they release H+ ions, however they don't ionise completely, making them a weak acid with a higher pH
• Esters have the functional group COO
• Esters are formed when a carboxylic acid reacts with an alcohol, and a catalyst is normally used
• carboxylic acids have the functional group COOH
• properties of esters include perfumes and solvents
• alcohols have a functional group of OH
• alcohols can be used for fuels and solvents and are very flammable
• ethanol can be made my fermentation. this includes using an enzyme found in yeast to convert sugars to ethanol. the conditions needed are temperatures of 37 c and anaerobic conditions
• an amino acid contains the amino group and the carboxyl group
• amino acids can form polymers called polypeptides via condensation polymerisation
• one or more long chains of polypeptides is called a protein
• dna is in a double helix structure with 4 monomers/nucleotides
• sugars are small molecules that contain carbon, oxygen and hydrogen
• sugars can react together in polymerisation reactions to form longer carbohydrate chains
• An example of 3 naturally occurring polymers are proteins, starch (carbohydrate) and DNA
• complete combustion: hydrocarbon + oxygen -> carbon dioxide + water
• shorter hydrocarbon chain the more runny- less viscous
• hydrocarbons with shorter chains are more volatile- lower boiling points
• shorter hydrocarbon chain the more flammable
• short chain hydrocarbons with lower boiling points are used as bottled gases- stored under pressure as liquids in bottles
• crude oil is a fossil fuel. formed from remains of plants and animals mainly plankton that died over millions of years ago and have been buried in mud. drilled up form rocks its found in
• fossil fuels are non-renewable fuels- used up faster than being made- finite resources as one day they will run out
• crude oil is made up of lots of hydrocarbons- mainly alkanes- and they are separated in fractional distillation
• fractional distillation

  -oil is heated until mot of it turns into a gas.

  -gases enter fractionating column

  -temperature gradient in the column- hot at bottom and cooler up

  -longer hydrocarbons have higher melting points and condense back into liquids and drain out of column early on

  -short hydrocarbons condense later on- near top

  -separated into different fractions containing similar number of carbon atoms in each molecule
• in each column in fractional distillation, there are similar numbers of carbon atoms in each molecule as they condense at the same point in the column
• The many hydrocarbons in crude oil may be separated into fractions, each of which contains molecules with a similar number of carbon atoms, by fractional distillation.
• The fractions can be processed to produce fuels and feedstock for the petrochemical industry.
• Many of the fuels on which we depend for our modern lifestyle, such as petrol, diesel oil, kerosene, heavy fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gases, are produced from crude oil.
• Many useful materials on which modern life depends are produced by the petrochemical industry, such as solvents, lubricants, polymers, detergents.
• The vast array of natural and synthetic carbon compounds occur due to the ability of carbon atoms to form families of similar compounds.
• carbon atoms can bond to form groups called homologous series- like alkanes or alkenes
• products of fractional distillation are turned into shorter more useful hydrocarbon chains by cracking
• cracking is a thermal decomposition reaction- breaking down molecules by heating them
• catalytic cracking


  -heat long chain hydrocarbon to vaporise them

  -vapour passed over hot powdered aluminium oxide catalyst

  -long chain molecules split apart on surface of catalyst- catalytic cracking
• steam cracking


  -vaporise hydrocarbons

  -mix them with steam

  -heat them to high temperatures
• alkenes are hydrocarbons with a double bond between 2 of the carbon atoms