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Organic Chemistry

Cracking, and testing alkenes with bromine water

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 2

Overview

Cracking as the thermal decomposition of large hydrocarbons into smaller molecules, catalytic cracking and steam cracking and their conditions, the alkanes and unsaturated alkenes produced, and the bromine water test, which turns from orange to colourless with an alkene.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Describe the conditions used for catalytic cracking and for steam cracking, and what the catalyst does.

Key term

What is cracking?

Key term

Explain why cracking one large hydrocarbon molecule always gives more than one product molecule.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is cracking?

    Model answer

    Cracking is the breaking down of large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller, more useful molecules.

  2. 2

    What type of reaction is cracking, in terms of what heat does to the molecules?

    Model answer

    It is a thermal decomposition reaction, because heat breaks one large molecule down into smaller ones.

  3. 3

    Explain why cracking one large hydrocarbon molecule always gives more than one product molecule.

    Model answer

    The large molecule is split into two or more smaller molecules, and every atom must be conserved.

  4. 4

    Name two methods of cracking.

    Model answer

    Catalytic cracking and steam cracking.

  5. 5

    What must be done to a hydrocarbon before either method of cracking can take place?

    Model answer

    It must be heated strongly so that it vaporises.

  6. 6

    State one thing that catalytic cracking and steam cracking have in common.

    Model answer

    Both require the hydrocarbon to be vaporised and heated to a high temperature so that its molecules break apart.

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