TAYO SCHOOL

GRADE 10TH CHEMISTRY HAND OUT

UNIT-6
HYDROCARBONS AND THEIR NATURAL SOURCES
6.1 Introduction
 Most of the foodstuff that we consume every day such as fruits, vegetables, sugar, fats,
starch, and vinegar are organic compounds.
 Similarly, substances such as pesticides, herbicides, fuels, dry cleaning chemicals, soaps and
detergents, pharmaceuticals, alcoholic beverages, etc. are also organic compounds
 Every living organism is made of organic compounds.
 A large number of organic compounds have been isolated and identified from plants and
animals.
 The organic compounds that are synthesized by living organisms are called natural
products.
History of Organic Chemistry
 Before the beginning of the nineteenth century, chemists classified compounds into two
classes; organic and inorganic.
 Those derived from living things (plants and animals) were classified as organic
compounds, while
 Those that came from mineral constituents of the earth or were found with non-living
things are classified as inorganic compounds
 Early chemists believed in life force theory(vital force) , which states that “it is
impossible to produce organic compounds from inorganic compounds”
 According to life force theory , organic compounds are derived from only living things
i.e only living things could produce organic compounds
 This belief was disproved in 1828 by Friedrich Wohler , a German chemist who
prepared urea ( an organic compound) from the reaction between solutions of inorganic
compounds ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) and silver cyanate (AgCNO)

Or

 This proved that, it is possible to synthesize organic compounds from inorganic

compounds.
 Friedrich Wohler : was known to be the father of organic chemistry
 Urea: was the first organic compound synthesized in the laboratory
 The synthesis of urea marked the beginning of organic chemistry

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 organic chemistry is the study of carbon compounds except the oxides of carbon,
carbonates, hydrogen carbonates, cyanides and cyanates
 Organic chemistry : is a branch of chemistry that deals with hydrocarbons and derivative
hydrocarbons
 Organic compounds are the compounds of carbon found in and derived from plants and
animals
 The main reason for the presence of millions of carbon compounds is the unique property
of carbon called catenation
 Catenation is the ability of atoms of the same element to join together to form short or
long chains and rings.
 A few other elements like sulphur, silicon and boron show this behaviour, but to a much
lesser extent
Structural Representations of Organic Molecules
 scientists have developed structural representations including: structural formula,
condensed structural formula, bond-line representation, and polygon formula
A. Complete Structural Formula
 Complete Structural formula is obtained by representing the two-electron covalent bond
by a single dash
Example:

B. Condensed Structural Formula

 The condensed structural formula is an abbreviated form of structural formula
 It is obtained by omitting some or all the dashes that represent covalent bonds
Example:

Note:
 The condensed structural formula can further be condensed by putting identical repetitive units in
parenthesis and indicating their repetition using subscripts.
Example:

C. Bond-Line Structural Representation

 In a bond-line structural representation, carbon and hydrogen atoms are not shown
but are understood to be there based on the fact that each carbon forms 4 covalent
bonds.
 The lines representing carbon-carbon bonds are drawn in a zig-zag fashion
Example:

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D. Polygon formula
 There are many organic compounds, in which carbon atoms are not joined in a chain,
but rather are joined in a ring
 There are many organic compounds, in which carbon atoms are not joined in a chain,
but rather are joined in a ring
Example:

Classes of Organic Compounds( classification of organic compounds)

 Organic compounds are generally classified based on their functional group
 The structural features that make it possible to classify compounds into families are
called functional groups.
 A functional group is a group of atoms and/or bonds within a molecule that has a
characteristic chemical behavior
 Functional group: is the part of molecule or a compound that determines the chemical
properties and some physical properties of that molecule or compound

6.2 Saturated Hydrocarbons: Alkanes (Cn H2n+2)

 Compounds that contain only carbon and hydrogen atoms are called hydrocarbons
 Hydrocarbons may be classified as aliphatic ("fat-like") or aromatic

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 Hydrocarbons may also be classified as saturated and unsaturated.

Note:
 Saturated hydrocarbons: are hydrocarbons that contain only carbon-carbon single
bonds
Ex: alkanes
 Unsaturated hydrocarbons : are hydrocarbons that contain carbon-carbon double bonds
or triple bonds i.e multiple bonds
Ex: alkenes, alkynes, aromatic hydrocarbons etc..
Alkanes or Paraffins
 Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons
 They are also called “paraffins”
 They contain carbon-carbon single bonds ( C-C) as their functional group
 Their functional group is :

 Their general formula is : CnH2n+2 where n= carbon number (n=1,2,3..)

2n+2= hydrogen number
///////////////////examples////////////////////
Alkane Homologous Series
 A group of compounds in which each member of the group differs from the next by a
“CH2” is called “ homologous series”
 CH2 group : are called “methylene group”
 A homologous series has the following characteristics:
 has a constant unit between two consecutive members; "
 has a general formula;
 shows trends in physical properties and
 Exhibit the same reactivity (chemical property).
 Members of a homologous series are called homologues.
////////////////examples//////exercise 6.1/////////////
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ALKANES
 At room temperature( 25oC and 1atm pressure) :
 Methane(CH4) to Butane (C4H10) are gases
 Pentane (C5H12) to heptadecane (C17H36) are liquids
 Octadecane (C18H38) and onwards are solids
 the alkanes are the least dense of all groups of organic compounds
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 Alkanes are non-polar organic compounds
 They are soluble in non-polar solvents such as benzene and insoluble in polar solvents
such as water
 Weak intermolecular forces called “van der waal’s force” or London forces hold their
molecules together. the strength of these force increases with increasing molar
mass/surface area
 The density, boiling point and melting point of alkanes increase as number of carbon
increases.
 All alkanes have densities considerably less than 1.00 g/ml
 Branched chain alkanes have lower boiling points than straight chains
 As branching increases boiling point decreases, surface area and strength of
intermolecular also decreases.
 Alkanes are colorless and tasteless hydrocarbons
 Alkanes containing all the carbon atoms in one continues chain are called “straight
chain alkanes”
 Alkanes containing chains with branches are called “branched chain alkanes”
//////////exercise 6.2/////////////
Nomenclature of Alkanes
 The names of alkanes and most of the organic compounds are derived from :
a) Prefix: indicating the number of carbon
b) Suffix: indicating the type of functional group
 the name of alkane ends with the suffix “ane”
 the ff table introduces the most common used prefixes

Prefix Number of carbon Prefix Number of carbon

Meth- 1 Undec- 11
Eth- 2 Dodec- 12
Prop- 3 Tridec- 13
But- 4 Tetradec- 14
Pent- 5 Pentadec- 15
Hex- 6 Hexadec- 16
Hept- 7 Heptadec- 17
Oct- 8 Octadec- 18
Non- 9 Nonadec- 19
Dec- 10 Eicos- 20

 Alkanes can be named in two ways, common names and IUPAC names.
Common Names of Alkanes
 Lower members of the alkane homologous series have common names.
 The prefixes used in the common names are n- (normal), ‘iso-’ and ‘neo-’
a. Normal (n): is used when all the carbon atoms form a continuous chain
 It is used to name an alkane without any branch

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b. Iso: is used when all of the carbon atoms form a continuous chain, except for the one
next to the last carbon
 It is used if there is branching at the second carbon

c. Neo: is used when the central carbon is bonded to four other carbon atoms

The System of IUPAC Nomenclature

 The system of nomenclature we will use in here is the one that was devised by the
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC, usually read as eye-you pac).
 The IUPAC nomenclature can be applied to both branched and unbranched alkanes
 Alkyl Radicals (R) or alkyl groups : are obtained by removing one hydrogen
atom from the corresponding alkanes.
 Their general formula is “CnH2n+1” where n=1,2,3,…
 Their names are derived from the names of alkanes changing the suffix “ane” to
“yl”
Rules in IUPAC names
1. Select the longest continuous chain as parent structure
2. Assign numbers to the carbon atoms of the longest chain from end nearer to the side
chains i.e start numbering from the nearest side chain
3. Indicate the position of the side chain using the number assigned to carbon, if the
same side chain appears twice , three times , four times use the prefixes di-, tri- , and
tetra- respectively.
4. Numbers are separated from each other by commas while they are separated from
side chain names by hyphens
5. Arrange the names of the side chains before the parent name in alphabetical order
NB: when F , Cl, Br and I appear as side chains their names will be changed to fluoro , chloro ,
bromo , and iodo respectively.
////////////examples//////////////////////
Note: bond line structures can be used in IUPAC naming system
Ex:

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\

//////////////////exercise 6.3///////////
Isomerism in Alkanes
 There is only one possible structure for each of the first three alkanes
 Alkanes containing four or more carbon atoms have more than one structure
 It is the existence of two or more chemical compounds with the same molecular formula
but different structures
 The compounds that have the same molecular formula but different structures are called
“isomers”
 Alkanes exhibit a type of isomerism called “chain isomerism” or “skeletal isomerism”
or “ structural isomerism”
 Isomers are different compounds and differ in physical and chemical properties
 The maximum number of structural isomers of alkanes is determined by the general
formula : 2n-4+1 , where n is the number of carbon (n=4,5,6…)
Note:
 Structural isomers have different physical properties.
 They are always found to have different melting points, boiling points, densities etc
//////////////////examples////////////////exercise 6.4/////////////
Preparation of Alkanes
 Alkanes are mainly produced from petroleum by fractional distillation
 Alkanes can also prepared in the laboratory by the following method :
1. Hydrogenation of alkenes with a metal catalyst

///////////////examples/////////////

2. Wurtz synthesis(reaction) :
 This method involves the reaction of halogenated alkane with sodium

//////examples///////////////

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3. Decarboxylation: (heating of sodium salt of an organic acid with soda lime )
 This reaction brings about the removal of the carboxylate group form sodium salt of
carboxylic acid
 This type of reaction is called decarboxylation & it is the most important method

/////////////////examples/////////////////////
Methane (CH4):
 It is the main constituent of natural gas (about 90%)
 It is obtained during fractional distillation of petroleum
 It is also formed from the decay and decomposition of animal and plant remains in
marshy lands
Note:
 The materials that can be used to produce biogas include dung from cattle, pigs,
chickens, chopped green plants and plant wastes.
 The advantages of biogas technology include saving on fuel such as kerosene, wood
and charcoal, and decrease in local deforestation.
 The residue obtained after preparing the biogas can be used as fertilizer.
///////////////exercise 6.5//////////////////
Chemical properties of Alkanes
 Alkanes are not generally considered to be very reactive organic compounds
 The name paraffin for alkanes arose from two Latin words “parum” meaning little
and “affinis” means affinity
 Thus, paraffin means “ little affinity “
 They major reactions of alkanes are the following:
1. Combustion Reaction:
 Combustion is the most important reaction of alkanes
 Alkanes burn in limited oxygen to produce CO and H2O
 Alkanes burn in excess oxygen to from CO2 and H2O
The general equation of the reaction is :
𝟑𝐧+𝟏
CnH2n+2 + [ ] O2 → nCO2 + (n+1)H2O + heat
𝟐
Where “n” is the number of carbon atoms in the alkane molecule
////////////////////////////////////examples//////////////////
2. Substitution Reaction:
 It is a reaction that involves the replacement of one atom or group of atoms by
another atom or group of atoms
 Alkanes mainly undergo substitution reaction
 Halogenation of alkanes is very good example of substitution reaction
 Alkanes can react with chlorine and bromine in the presence of heat or sun light
 This type of reaction is called “photo chemical reaction”
 This reaction proceeds in sequence of steps

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a) Chain initiating step :
 This step involves the absorption of energy to generate reactive particle
called known as “free radicals”
 A free radical: is an atom or group of atoms possessing unpaired electron
Ex:

b) Chain propagating step:

 It is a step which consumes a free radical produced in the chain initiating step
and generates another free radical.
Ex:
c) Chain terminating step: in this step free radical are consumed but not generated
Ex:
////////////chlorination /////////// bromination
NB:
 Fluorine can react with an alkane but iodine cannot react with alkane in the
presence or absence of light
3. Elimination reaction:
 It is a reaction that involves the removal of smaller molecules from a compound
with the formation of compounds containing multiple bonds
 It can also involve the removal of hydrogen atoms from adjacent carbon atoms
at high temperature
Example: a)

Or

b)

////////exercise 6.6///////////////
Cycloalkanes (Alicyclic Hydrocarbons)
 Cycloalkanes are alkanes in which all or some of the carbon atoms are arranged in
a ring.
 They have the general formula CnH2n where n≥3
 They are isomeric with alkenes
 Their names are obtained by prefixing “cyclo” to the name of an alkane
Examples include cyclopropane, cyclobutane, cyclopentane, cyclohexane, etc.

Note:
 The simplest alicyclic compound is cyclopropane.

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Uses of Alkanes
 Alkanes are primarily used as fuels.
 They are also used as solvents and raw materials for making alkenes, alcohols, soaps,
detergents and plastics.
///////////exercise 6.7//////////////

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