CARBON AND ITS COMPOUNDS

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF HYDROCARBONS:

1) Combustion :
All hydrocarbons produce CO2 , water and energy on combustion , hence are
generally used as fuels.
All saturated hydrocarbons undergo complete combustion in excess supply of
air.
All unsaturated hydrocarbons undergo incomplete combustion even if the supply
of air is excess(21% of oxygen in air is not sufficient) producing sooty flame
Unsaturated hydrocarbons require pure oxygen for complete combustion.
2) Addition reaction:
It is undergone by unsaturated hydrocarbons.
In these reactions, small molecules add across the double / triple bond until it is
converted to a saturated hydrocarbon.
Industrial application Hydrogenation of vegetable oils: the edible oils used for
cooking are unsaturated. Upon passing hydrogen gas in presence of Nickel
catalyst, the unsaturated oils change to saturated fat/ghee/vanaspati
3) Substitution reaction:
These reactions are undergone by saturated hydrocarbons.
In these reactions, one or more hydrogen atoms of the saturated hydrocarbon
are replaced by other atoms
SOME IMPORTANT CARBON COMPOUNDS
ETHANOL(Ethyl alcohol):

100% pure alcohol is called absolute alcohol.

Sometimes the nature of alcohol is altered by adding poisonous substances like
methanol,pyridine, CuSO4 etc, to make it unfit for consumption. Such an alcohol is called
denatured alcohol.

ETHANOIC ACID (Acetic acid):

100% pure acetic acid is called glacial acetic acid.

5 8% solution of acetic acid in water is called vinegar, which is used as a preservative.
Distinction between ethanol and ethanoic acid

ETHANOL
Physical properties:
1.It has an alcoholic smell
2.It has a burning taste.
3.It is neutral towards litmus.
Chemical properties:
4.It shows no reaction with NaHCO3 or
Na2CO3
5.It decolorizes alkaline KMnO4

ETHANOIC ACID
1.It has the smell of vinegar.
2.It has a sour taste.
3.It turns blue litmus to red.
4.It produces a brisk effervescence with
NaHCO3 and Na2CO3.
5.It does not decolorize alkaline KMnO4.

SOAPS AND DETERGENTS:

SOAPS
1.It is a sodium or potassium salt of long chain
carboxylic acid(fatty acid).
2.It forms an insoluble precipitate (scum) on
reacting with calcium/magnesium salts in hard
water.
3.It is bio-degradable hence does not cause
any environmental problems.

DETERGENTS
1.It is a sodium or ammonium salt of long
chain sulphonic acid (sulphonate salt)
It does not form an insoluble precipitate on
reacting with the salts of hard water.
3.It is non-biodegradable and hence causes
water pollution.