1. Hydrocarbons Keywords Alkanes – uses, sources and reactions
Alkenes – uses, sources and reactions
Alkynes – uses, sources and reactions
Types of reactions - A summary

2. Keywords
These chemicals that we will be studying in this section are called hydrocarbons (they are composed of hydrogen and carbon).
When discussing them we use a number of key words:
Saturated – this term is used to describe an organic molecule who has no double or triple bonds
Unsaturated– this term is used to describe an organic molecule who has a double or triple bond between their carbons
Polyunsaturated – when an organic molecule has many double or triple bonds
Melting/boiling point – the temperature at which the specific molecule boils or melts. There is an important trend to do with this – as the molecule gets bigger the melting and boiling points get higher (they are harder to melt)

3. Alkanes – Uses and sources
Alkanes are saturated organic molecules.
Sources
They can be made by adding hydrogen to unsaturated organic molecules
They can be extracted from crude oil and natural gas
Uses
Alkanes are primarily used for fuels:
Methane
Propane
Octane
They can also be used for lubricants (e.g. machine oil) and road surfaces (bitumen)

4. Alkanes - Reactions
Combustion – the burning of alkanes in oxygen to produce CO2 and H2O
Cracking – the snapping of long chain alkanes to produce an alkane and an alkene
Substitution – when a hydrogen is swapped with a different element – normally a halogen

5. Alkenes – Uses and sources
Alkenes have a double bond present somewhere in their structure. This bond can be snapped open and other elements bonded to it. This makes them quite handy.
Sources
Alkenes can be created by cracking alkanes
Uses
Alkenes can be used for fuel
They can be used as a building block for alkanes, alcohols and haloalkanes (see next page)
They can be used to create various plastics

6. Alkenes - Reactions Combustion
Addition – when a double bond is broken and other components are added. There are a number of different types of addition reactions:
Hydrogenation – the addition of hydrogen (with a Pt catalyst)
Halogenation – the addition of a halogen (e.g. Cl2)
Hydrohalogenation – the addition of a hydrogen halide (e.g. HCl)
Hydration – the addition of water
Oxidation – the use of MnO4- to add two –OH groups
In each of these cases what type of chemical would be produced?
Polymerisation – this is the linking together of many alkenes to create long chained organic molecules (plastics like polyethene)

7. Alkynes
Alkynes have triple bonds and behave in a very similar way to alkenes except that they are more reactive. This means that there is no natural source of alkynes.
Sources
Ethyne is produced when you mix Calcium carbide (CaC2) with water
Uses
Ethyne (acetylene) is used in welding because it produces a lot of heat when burnt in pure oxygen
Reactions
Alkynes have exactly the same type of reactions as alkenes

8. Types of Reactions – a summary
Match the terms with the summaries below:
Type
Description
Combustion
Replacing a hydrogen
Substitution
Adding a hydrogen
Addition
Joining unsaturated molecules together
Hydrogenation
Adding a halogen
Halogenation
Adding a hydrogen halide
Hydrohalogenation
Burning in oxygen
Hydration
Adding atoms
Polymerisation
Adding water