Chapter summary
The whole chapter in one list.
Hydrocarbons
- Organic compounds made of carbon and hydrogen only are called hydrocarbons.
- In some hydrocarbon molecules the carbon atoms are joined only by single covalent bonds. Such hydrocarbons are called alkanes.
- Crude oil is a mixture of alkanes. The general formula of the alkane family is CnH2n+2.
- As well as alkanes, hydrocarbons with double or triple bonds between carbon atoms occur in nature.
- Other organic compounds are formed when other atoms or groups of atoms take the place of hydrogen atoms in hydrocarbon molecules.
Polymers
- The giant molecules formed when a large number of simple molecules join together are called polymers.
- Polymers found in the parts of animals or plants are natural polymers; polymers prepared artificially are synthetic polymers.
- Synthetic polymers are very often called plastics.
- The shape of some polymers can be changed by heat, while the shape of others cannot.
- Because synthetic polymers do not decay, they have many disadvantages as well as advantages.
- If plastic waste is not managed properly, it can cause many environmental problems.
The textbook's summary prints the general formula as "Cn CnH2n+2"; the stray Cn is a typesetting slip. Triple bonds (the alkynes) are named in the summary but not studied in this chapter.