Organic Chemistry

Alkanes - there are 4 alkanes; methane, ethane, propane and butane. They have high melpting and boiling points and they can be broken dwon into alkenes. They are all saturated compounds and each carbon atoms forms 4 single covalent bonds. They are the simplest type of hydrocarbon and the formula is CnH2n+2. They are a homolgous series. 

FRACTIONAL DISTILISATION; 1. the oil is heated until it turns into a gas. It then enters a fractionating column.  2. In the colums there is a temperature gradient (hot at the bottom, but cooler at the top.) 3. the longer hydrocarbons have high boiling points. They condense back into liquids and drain out at the bottom. The shorter hydrocarbons have lower boiling points and they drain out nearer the top.  4. You end up with crude oil seperated into seperate into different fractions. Each fractions contains a mixture of hydrocarbons that all have carbon atoms so have a similar boiling point.

Properties of hydrocarbons; they are the simplest…