Candidates should be able to:
(a) show awareness of the general unreactivity of alkanes, including towards polar reagents
(b) describe the chemistry of alkanes as exemplified by the following reactions of ethane:
(i) combustion
(ii) substitution by chlorine and by bromine
(c) *describe the mechanism of free-radical substitution at methyl groups with particular reference to the initiation, propagation and termination reactions
(d) describe the chemistry of alkenes as exemplified, where relevant, by the following reactions of ethene and propene (including the Markovnikov addition of asymmetric electrophiles to propene):
(i) *addition of hydrogen, steam, hydrogen halides and halogens
(ii) *oxidation by cold, dilute, acidified manganate(VII) ions to form the diol
(iii) oxidation by hot, concentrated, acidified manganate(VII) ions leading to the rupture of the carbon-to-carbon double bond
in order to determine the position of alkene linkages in larger molecules
(iv) polymerisation (see also Section 10.8)
(e) *describe the mechanism of electrophilic addition in alkenes, using bromine/ethene and hydrogen bromide/propene as examples
(f) explain the use of crude oil as a source of both aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons
(g) suggest how ‘cracking’ can be used to obtain more useful alkanes and alkenes of lower Mr from larger hydrocarbon molecules
(h) describe and explain how the combustion reactions of alkanes lead to their use as fuels in industry, in the home and in transport
(i) recognise the environmental consequences of:
(i) carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and unburnt hydrocarbons arising from the internal combustion engine and of their
catalytic removal
(ii) gases that contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect
(a) show awareness of the general unreactivity of alkanes, including towards polar reagents
(b) describe the chemistry of alkanes as exemplified by the following reactions of ethane:
(i) combustion
(ii) substitution by chlorine and by bromine
(c) *describe the mechanism of free-radical substitution at methyl groups with particular reference to the initiation, propagation and termination reactions
(d) describe the chemistry of alkenes as exemplified, where relevant, by the following reactions of ethene and propene (including the Markovnikov addition of asymmetric electrophiles to propene):
(i) *addition of hydrogen, steam, hydrogen halides and halogens
(ii) *oxidation by cold, dilute, acidified manganate(VII) ions to form the diol
(iii) oxidation by hot, concentrated, acidified manganate(VII) ions leading to the rupture of the carbon-to-carbon double bond
in order to determine the position of alkene linkages in larger molecules
(iv) polymerisation (see also Section 10.8)
(e) *describe the mechanism of electrophilic addition in alkenes, using bromine/ethene and hydrogen bromide/propene as examples
(f) explain the use of crude oil as a source of both aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons
(g) suggest how ‘cracking’ can be used to obtain more useful alkanes and alkenes of lower Mr from larger hydrocarbon molecules
(h) describe and explain how the combustion reactions of alkanes lead to their use as fuels in industry, in the home and in transport
(i) recognise the environmental consequences of:
(i) carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and unburnt hydrocarbons arising from the internal combustion engine and of their
catalytic removal
(ii) gases that contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect