Organic ChemistryKey Facts

Key Facts: Crude Oil

Part of Crude OilGCSE Chemistry

This key facts covers Key Facts: Crude Oil within Crude Oil for GCSE Chemistry. Topic 37: Crude Oil It is section 8 of 13 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

Topic position

Section 8 of 13

Practice

20 questions

Recall

0 flashcards

📝 Key Facts: Crude Oil

  • Crude oil = mixture of many different hydrocarbons
  • Hydrocarbon = molecule containing hydrogen and carbon ONLY
  • Most hydrocarbons in crude oil are alkanes
  • Fractional distillation separates by boiling point
  • It's a physical process — no chemical bonds broken
  • Smaller molecules = lower boiling point, more flammable, less viscous
  • Larger molecules = higher boiling point, less flammable, more viscous
  • Crude oil is a finite, non-renewable resource

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Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Crude Oil. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

Practice Questions for Crude Oil

A hydrocarbon is a compound that contains only:

  • A. Hydrogen and carbon only
  • B. Hydrogen and oxygen only
  • C. Carbon and nitrogen only
  • D. Hydrogen, carbon and oxygen
1 markfoundation

Explain how fractional distillation separates crude oil into different fractions.

3 marksstandard

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