NOTES ON CARBON
NOTES ON CARBON
NOTES ON CARBON
and have cleansing action in water. According to this definition of detergents, soap is also a detergent
and has been used for more than two thousand years.
SOAP:
A soap is a sodium or potassium salt of some long chain carboxylic acids (fatty acid). Sodium salts of
fatty acids are known as hard soaps and potassium salts of fatty acid are known as soft soaps. Soap
has a large non-ionic hydrocarbon group and an ionic COO– Na+ group. The structure of soap can be
represented as:
Where represents the hydrocarbon group and ! represents negatively charged carboxyl group. Some
examples of soaps are sodium stearate, C17H35COO–Na+, sodium palmitate, C15H31COO–Na+ and
sodium oleate, C17H33COO–Na+.
Hard water, which contains salts of magnesium and calcium, reacts with soap to form
magnesium and calcium salts of fatty acid.
Preparation of soap:
Soap is prepared by heating oil or fat of vegetable or animal origin with concentrated sodium
hydroxide solution (caustic soda solution). Hydrolysis of fat takes place and a mixture of sodium salt
of fatty acids thus formed are used as soap so alkaline hydrolysis of oils and fats is commonly known
as saponification.
(ii) Limitation of soap:
Soap is not suitable for washing clothes with hard water because of the following reasons:
(a) Hard water contains salts of calcium and magnesium. When soap is added to hard water, calcium
and magnesium ions of hard water react with soap forming insoluble calcium and magnesium slats of
fatty acids.
(b) When hard water is used, soap forms insoluble precipitates of calcium and magnesium salts,
which stick to the cloth being washed. Therefore, it interferes with the cleaning ability of the soap
and makes the cleaning process difficult.
These calcium and magnesium salts of fatty acids are insoluble in water and separate as
curdy white precipitate.
DETERGENTS:
Detergents are also called ‘soap-less soaps’ because though they act like a soap in having the
cleansing properties, they do not contain the usual ‘soaps’ like sodium stearate, etc.
A detergent is the sodium salt of a long chain benzene sulphonic acid (or the sodium salt of a long
chain alkyl hydrogensulphate) which has cleansing properties in water. A detergent has a large non-
ionic hydrocarbon group and an ionic group like sulphonate group, SO3–Na+, or sulphate group SO4–
Na+. Examples of detergents are : Sodium n- dodecyl benzene sulphonate and Sodium n-dodecyl
sulphate. These are shown below :
The structure of a detergent is similar to that of soaps. A detergent molecule also consists of two
parts : a long hydrocarbon chain which is water repelling (hydrophobic), and a short ionic part which
is water attracting (hydrophilic).
Synthetic detergents are prepared by reacting hydrocarbons from petroleum with conc. Sulphuric
acid and converting the product into its sodium salt.
Ex.:
• Washing powders available in the market contain about 15 to 30 percent detergents
by weight.
Soaps are prepared from natural oils and Synthetic detergents are prepared from the
2.
fats. hydrocarbons of petroleum.
Soaps form insoluble salts (curdy white ppt.) Calcium and magnesium salts of detergents are
with calcium and magnesium which are soluble in water and, therefore, no curdy white
3.
present in hard water and hence, cannot be precipitates are obtained in hard water and hence,
used in hard water. can be used even in hard water.
Soaps cannot be used in acidic medium as They can be used in acidic medium as they are the
4. they are decomposed into carboxylic acids salt of strong acids and are not decomposed in a
in acidic medium. acidic medium
Synthetic detergents are widely used as cleaning agents these days. Some of their advantages over
soaps are:
• Synthetic detergents can be used for washing even in hard water. On the other hand, soaps
are not suitable for use with hard water.
• Synthetic detergents can be used even in acidic solutions because they are not readily
decomposed in acidic medium. On the other hard, soaps cannot be used in acidic medium
because they are decomposed into carboxylic acids in acidic medium.
When a soap or a detergent is added to water the polar heads of their molecules dissolve in water
while non-polar tails dissolve in each other. As a result, the soap or the detergent forms spherical
ionic micelles, i.e., clusters of about 100-200 molecules with their polar heads (shown by solid
circles) on the surface of the cluster and the non-polar chains (shown by wavy lines) directed
towards the centre. In a similar way, detergents also form ionic micelles. These micelles remain
suspended in water as a colloid and will not come together to precipitate out due to repulsion
between the similar negative charges.
A spherical aggregate of soap molecule in soap solution in the water is called ‘micelle’. The
soap micelles are quite large and hence they scatter light. That is why a soap solution appears
cloudy.
The dirt is generally held to the surface of a dirty cloth by a thin film of oil or grease. When a dirty
cloth is treated with soap or detergent solution, the non-polar hydrocarbon tails of the soap or the
detergent dissolve in oil or grease while the polar heads are held by the surrounding water. The
stepwise formation of these micelles is shown in figure. In other words, soap or the detergent is
attracted to both the greasy dirt and water. This lowers the surface tension of water and a stable
emulsion of oil in water is formed.
When the surface of the cloth is mechanically scrubbed or beaten on a stone or with a wooden
paddle or agitated in a washing machine, the loosened oily dirt particles are removed from the dirty
surface and the cloth is cleaned. Since detergents lower the surface tension of water to a greater
extent than soaps, therefore, the cleansing power of detergents is much higher than those of soaps.
It may be noted that in the past, the widespread use of detergents caused pollution of rivers and
other water bodies. Earlier the synthetic detergents were made from long chain of hydrocarbons
having a lot of branched chains in them. These branched chain detergent molecules were degraded
very slowly by the micro organisms present in water bodies like lakes or rivers.
Therefore, they tend to remain in water bodies for a long time and make water unfit for aquatic life.
For example, detergents containing phosphates can cause rapid growth of algae and therefore,
deplete the dissolved oxygen present in the water of lakes and rivers. As a result of lack of oxygen,
fish and other aquatic animals may die.
To solve these problems, now-a-days, the detergents are prepared from hydrocarbons which have
minimum branching. These are degraded more easily than branched chain detergents. Therefore,
these are biodegradable and create fewer problems.
Solved questions
Solution: Carbon atom has 4 electrons in the outermost shell.It needs 4 more electrons to complete
its octet. Therefore , carbon is tetravalent
2. What would be the electron dot structure of carbon dioxide which has the formula CO2?
Solution: The valency of carbon in all its compounds whether saturated or unsaturated is 4.
Solution: The high temperature destroys the enzymes which are needed to carry fermentation .
5. What would be the electron dot structure of a molecule of sulphur which is made up of eight
atoms of sulphur? (Hint − the eight atoms of sulphur are joined together in the form of a ring.)
6. What are the two properties of carbon which lead to the huge number of carbon compounds we
see around us?
Sol. The two features of carbon that give rise to a large number of compounds are as follows:
(i) Catenation − It is the ability to form bonds with other atoms of carbon.
(ii) Tetravalency − With the valency of four, carbon is capable of bonding with four other atoms.
Sol. (i)
(ii) There are many structural isomers possible for bromopentane. Among them, the structures of
three isomers are given.
(iii)
(iv)
8. What is the difference in the molecular mass of any two adjacent homologues?
Solution: A small amount of methyl alcohol , pyridine or copper sulphate is added to denature ethyl
alcohol.
10. Which gas is evolved when sodium carbonate or bicarbonate is added to ethanoic acid ?
11. Explain the formation of scum when hard water is treated with soap.
Solution: Soap does not work properly when the water is hard. A soap is a sodium or potassium salt
of long chain fatty acids. Hard water contains salts of calcium and magnesium. When soap is added
to hard water, calcium and magnesium ions present in water displace sodium or potassium ions from
the soap molecules forming an insoluble substance called scum. A lot of soap is wasted in the
process.
12. What change will you observe if you test soap with litmus paper (red and blue)?
Solution: Since soap is basic in nature, it will turn red litmus blue. However, the colour of blue litmus
will remain blue.
This reaction is applied in the hydrogenation of vegetables oils, which contain long chains of
unsaturated carbons.
The dirt present on clothes is organic in nature and insoluble in water. Therefore, it cannot be
removed by only washing with water. When soap is dissolved in water, its hydrophobic ends attach
themselves to the dirt and remove it from the cloth. Then, the molecules of soap arrange themselves
in micelle formation and trap the dirt at the centre of the cluster. These micelles remain suspended
in the water. Hence, the dust particles are easily rinsed away by water.
15. Give a test that can be used to differentiate chemically between butter and cooking oil.
Solution: Butter contains saturated fats. Therefore, it cannot be hydrogenated. On the other hand, oil
has unsaturated fats. That is why it can be hydrogenated to saturated fats (solids).
According to IUPAC system, the name of organic compound, in general consists of the following
parts.
(I) Word root (II) Primary suffix
The word root represents the number of carbon atoms in the parent chain. For the chains upto four
carbon atoms special word roots are used, but for the chains containing more than four carbon
atoms, Greek numerals are used.
C1 Meth− C9 Non−
Primary Suffix
Primary suffix is used to represent saturation or unsaturation in the carbon chain. While writing the
name, primary suffix is added to the word root.
Secondary Suffix
Secondary suffix is used to indicate the functional group in the organic compound. The terminal 'e' of
the primary suffix is dropped if it is followed by a suffix beginning with 'a', 'i', 'o', 'u' or 'y'.
Class of organic General IUPAC name of the family
Suffix
compound formula (Word root + Primary suffix + Secondary suffix)
Amides R—CONH2−CONH2Alkanamide
Note:
• If the name of the secondary suffix begins with a consonant, then the terminal 'e' of the
primary suffix is not dropped while adding secondary suffix to it.
• (The terminal 'e' of primary suffix is also retained if some numerical prefix like di, tri, etc. is
used before the secondary suffix.
Prefix
Prefix is a part of the name which appears before the word root. Prefixes are used to represent the
names of alkyl groups (branched chains) or some functional groups which are regarded as
substituents.
CH3−
Methyl
CH3CH2− Me−
Ethyl
CH4 CH3CH2CH2− Et−
n−Propyl
C2H6 CH3—CH− n−Pr−
isoproyl or
C3H8 | Iso−Pr−
(1−Methyl ethyl)
C3H8 CH3 −
ethenyl or vinyl
CH2 = CH− −
ethynyl
CH ≡ C −
Arrangement of Prefixes, Word root and Suffixes: The prefixes, word root and suffixes are arranged as
follows while writing the IUPAC name.
In order to have better understanding of various rules of nomenclature, let us discuss it in different
parts as
• Nomenclature of hydrocarbons.
Nomenclature of Hydrocarbons
Select the longest continuous chain of carbon atoms as the parent chain. If some carbon−carbon
multiple bond is present, the parent chain must contain the carbon atoms involved in it. The number
of carbon atoms in the parent chain determines the word root. The carbon atoms which are not
included in the parent chain are considered as alkyl substituents and determine the prefixes.
If two equally long chains are possible, the chain with maximum number of side chains is selected as
parent chain. For example,
In some cases, the longest chain is ruled out at the expense of conjugated system. For example,
The selected parent chain is numbered using Arabic numerals and the positions of the alkyl groups
are indicated by the number of the carbon atom to which the alkyl group is attached. The numbering
is done in such a way that the substituted carbon atoms have the lowest possible numbers. When
series of locants containing the same number of terms are compared by term, that series is lowest
which contains the lowest number on the occasion of first difference. Some examples are given
below:
2,7,8−Trimethyldecane
In case of unsaturated hydrocarbons, the carbon atoms involved in the multiple bond should get the
lowest possible number, For example.
If the compound contains more than one similar alkyl groups, their positions are indicated separately
and an appropriate numerical prefix: di, tri, etc. is attached to the same of the substituent. The
positions of the substituents are separated by commas. For example,
If there are different alkyl substituents present in the compound, their names are written in the
alphabetical order. However, the numerical prefixes such as di, tri, etc are not considered for the
alphabetical order. For example.
Naming different alkyl substituents at the equivalent positions. If two different alkyl groups are
located at the equivalent positions, then numbering of the chain is done in such a way that the alkyl
group which comes first in alphabetic order gets the lower position. For example, if ethyl and methyl
groups are present in equivalent positions, then carbon bearing ethyl group should get the lower
number as illustrated in the following example.
In the light of the above rules, let us write the IUPAC name of some alphatic hydrocarbons.
Rule 5: Naming the Complex Alkyl Substituents
If the alkyl substituent is further branched it is named as substituted alkyl group. For this purpose,
the carbon atoms of the alkyl group are separately numbered in such a way, that the carbon atom
directly attached to the parent chain is given number 1. the prefix/name of such a substituent is
enclosed in brackets as illustrated in the following example.
Here substituted propyl group is present at carbon number 4 of the parent chain. The propyl group
has two methyl substituents as carbon number 1 of the alkyl group. Thus, the name of the
compound is 2,2,7−Trimethyl− 4 − (1−methylpropyl) nonane
Here substituted ethyl group is present at carbon number 4 of the parent chain, this ethyl group has
two methyl substituents. Thus, the name of the compound is 3−Ethyl−4,
7−dimethyl−4−(1,1−dimethylethyl) decane.
The numerical prefixes bis−, tris−, tetraki−, pentakisetc. are used to indicate a multiplicity of
substituted substituent. The name of the substituted substituent is enclosed in parentheses. For
example,
Nomenclature Of Compounds Having One Functional Group
It has been pointed out in the beginning that the functional groups (other than C = C or C ≡ C)
present in the molecule are indicated by secondary suffixes. However, some of the functional groups
are always regarded as substituents and are indicated by the prefixes. The various, rule which are
followed while writing the name of the compounds having one functional group are described below.
Select the longest continuous chain of the carbon atoms as parent chain. The selected chain must
include the carbon atoms involved in the functional groups like −COOH, −CHO, −CN, etc. or those
which carry the functional groups like −OH, −NH2,−Cl, −NO2 etc. The number of carbon atoms in
parent chain decides the word root.
The carbon atoms of the parent chain are numbered in such a way so that the carbon atom of the
functional groups gets the lowest possible number. In case the functional group does not have the
carbon atom, then the carbon atom of the parent chain attached to the functional group should get
the lowest possible number.
Rule 3, Rule 4 and Rule 5 are used in the similar way as described in case of hydrocarbons earlier.
Some more examples of the compounds containing one functional group are being are below.
When there is a linear chain and two halide groups are present on the two corner, counting of
carbon is done in increasing alphabetical order. For example,
Br − CH2CH2CH2CH2Cl
Naming The Compounds With More Than One Similar Functional Groups
If the organic molecule contains more than one similar functional groups, then in addition to various
rules, the numerical prefixes di (for 2), tri(for 3) etc. are added before the secondary suffix which
indicates the functional group. While adding such words, the vowel 'e' of the primary suffix is
retained. For example,
Here, word root is but, primary suffix is −ane and secondary suffix is ‘ol’. The −OH groups are
positioned at carbon number 1,2 and 3. Thus, the name is,
Butane−1,2,3−triol or 1,2,3−Butanetriol
Some more examples of the compounds containing more than one similar functional group are given
below.
4
CH2 = 3CH —2CH = 1CH2 Buta−1,3−diene or 1,3−Butadiene
ISOMERISM
Let us consider the structural formulae of the first three members of the alkane series, i.e., the
structural formulae of methane, ethane and propane.
If the positions of carbon and hydrogen atoms in these molecules are rearranged, the same
structural formulae are obtained. This means that the structural formulae of the first three members
of the alkane series remain unchanged, even if the carbon and hydrogen atoms in them are
rearranged.
Now consider the fourth member of the alkane series, i.e., butane. In butane, carbon and hydrogen
atoms may be arranged differently to give different structures and, hence, different compounds.
Both n-butane and isobutane have the same molecular formula (C4H10) but their structures are
different. In n-butane, the carbon atoms form a longer straight chain, while in isobutene, there is a
shorter straight chain and a branch. In the straight chain (n-butane), no carbon atom is bonded to
more than two carbon atoms, but in the branched chain (isobutene), one carbon atom is bonded to
three other carbon atoms n-butane and isobutene are called isomers.
Organic compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulae are known as
isomers. This phenomenon is called Isomerism.
CHARACTERISTICS OF ISOMERS:
• The physical and chemical properties of all the isomers of a compound differ from one
another.
• Structural Isomerism
• Stereoisomerism
(i) Structural isomerism: When the isomerism is simply due to difference in the arrangement of
atoms within the molecule without any reference to space, the phenomenon is termed structural
isomerism. In other words, while they have same molecular formulas they possess different
structural formulas. This type of isomerism which arises from difference in the structure of
molecules, includes:
(e) Tautomerism
(ii) Stereoisomerism: When isomerism is caused by the different arrangements of atoms or groups in
space, the phenomenon is called Stereoisomerism (Greek, Stereos = occupying space). The
stereoisomers have the same structural formulas but differ in the spatial arrangement of atoms or
groups in the molecule. In other words, stereoisomerism is exhibited by such compounds which have
identical molecular structure but different configurations.
This type of isomerism arises from the difference in the structure of carbon chain which forms the
nucleus of the molecule. It is, therefore, named as chain,nuclear isomerism or Skeletalisomerism. For
example, there are known two butanes which have the same molecular formula (C4H10) but differ in
the structure of the carbon chains in their molecules.
While n-butane has a continuous chain of four carbon atoms, isobutane has a branched chain. These
chain isomers have somewhat different physical and chemical properties, n-butane boiling at -
0.5o and isobutane at -10.2o. This kind of isomerism is also shown by other classes of compounds.
Thus n-butyl alcohol and isobutyl alcohol having the same molecular formula C4H9OH are chain
isomers.
It may be understood clearly that the molecules of chain isomers differ only in respect of the linking
of the carbon atoms in the alkanes or in the alkyl radicals present in other compounds.
Positional Isomerism
It is the type of isomerism in which the compounds possessing same molecular formula differ in their
properties due to the difference in their properties due to difference in the position of either the
functional group or the multiple bond or the branched chain attached to the main carbon chain. For
example, n-propyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol are the positional isomers.
CH3–CH2–CH2–OH CH3–CHOH–CH3
CH2=CH–CH2–CH3 CH3–CH=CH–CH3
1-butene 2-butene
Functional Isomerism
When any two compounds have the same molecular formula but possess different functional groups,
they are called functional isomers and the phenomenon is termed functional isomerism. In other
words substances with the same molecular formula but belonging to different classes of compounds
exhibit functional isomerism. Thus,
(1) Diethyl ether and butyl alcohol both have the molecular formula C4H6O, but contain different
functional groups.
C2H5–O–C2H5 C4H9–OH
The functional group in diethyl ether is (–O–), while is butyl alcohol it is (–OH).
(2) Acetone and propionaldehyde both with the molecular formula C3H6O are functional isomers.
CH3–CO–CH3 CH3–CH2–CHO
acetone Propionaldehyde
Metamerism
This type of isomerism is due to the unequal distribution of carbon atoms on either side of the
functional group in the molecule of compounds belonging to the same class. For example, methyl
propyl ether and diethyl ether both have the same molecular formula.
CH3–O–C3H7 C2H5–O–C2H5
In methyl propyl ether the chain is 1 and 3, while in diethyl ether it is 2 and 2. This isomerism known
as Metamerismis shown by members of classes such as ethers, and amines where the central
functional group is flanked by two chains. The individual isomers are known as Metamers.
Examples:
Tautomerism
It is the type of isomerism in which two functional isomers exist together in equilibrium. The two
forms existing in equilibrium are called as tautomers. For example, the compound acetoacetic ester
has two tautomers – one has a keto group and other has an enol group:
Out of the two tautomeric forms, one is more stable and exists in larger proportion. In above,
normally 93% of the keto form (more stable) and only 7% of the enol form (less stable i.e. labile)
exist.
STEREOISOMERISM
The isomers which differ only in the orientation of atoms in space are known as stereoisomerism. It’s
of two types.
Geometrical isomerism: Isomers which posses the same molecular and structural formula but differ
in arrangement of atoms or groups in space around the double bonds, are known as geometrical
isomers and the phenomenon is known as geometrical isomerism. Geometrical isomerism are show
by the compounds having the structure.
(i) Cis – trans isomerism: When similar groups are on the same side it is cis and if same groups are on
the opposite side it is trans isomerism.
(i) Dipolemoment: Usually dipole moment of cis is larger than the trans-isomer.
(ii) Melting point: The steric repulsion of the group (same) makes the cis isomer less stable than the
trans isomers hence trans form has higher melting point than cis.
Structural formula:
Properties of Ethanol:
Physical Properties:
• It is neutral to litmus.
Chemical Properties:
Combustion: Ethanol burns in air with a blue flame to form CO2& H2O.
Oxidation:
Ethanol reacts with sodium to produce hydrogen gas and sodium ethoxide.
The process of formation of an ester by the combination of an alcohol with carboxylic acid is known
as esterification.
When ethanol reacts with ethanoic acid in presence of concentrated sulphuric acid ethyl ethanoate
and water are formed.
Ethanol reacts with concentrated sulphuric acid at 443 K to produce ethylene. This reaction is known
as acidic dehydration of ethanol because in this reaction, water molecule is removed from ethanol.
The concentrated sulphuric acid may be regarded as a dehydrating agent because it removes water
from ethanol.
SOME IMPORTANT TERMS:
To prevent the misuse for drinking purpose, the alcohol supplied for industrial purpose is rendered
unfit by mixing it with some poisonous substances like methanol, pyridine, copper sulphate etc. It is
known as denatured alcohol.
Rectified spirit is heated under reflux over quicklime for about 5 to 6 hours and then allowed to stand
for 12 hours. On distillation, pure alcohol (C2H5OH = 100%) is obtained. This is called absolute
alcohol.
Alcohol, which is used for generating power is called power alcohol it consists of a mixture of
absolute alcohol and petrol roughly in the ratio 20:80. Since alcohol itself, does not mix with petrol,
therefore, a third solvent such as benzene, ether etc, is added as a co-solvent.
USES OF ETHANOL:
(i) Ethanol is a constituent of beverages like beer, wine, whisky and other liquors.
Beer = 3 - 6 % (Ethanol)
Wine = 10 - 20 % (Ethanol)
(iii) Antifreeze:
It is a mixture of ethanol and water which has a much lower freezing point than that of water. It is
used in radiators of vehicles in cold countries.
(iv) It is used in manufacture of paints, dyes, medicines, soaps and synthetic rubber. Solutions of
ethanol prepared in pharmaceutical industry are known as tinctures.
• If ethanol is mixed with CH3OH and consumed, it may cause serious poisoning and loss of
eyesight.
• It causes addiction (habit forming) and mixes with blood. It damages liver if taken regularly.
• Higher amount of consumption of ethanol leads to loss of body control & consciousness. It
may even cause death.
Alcohol as a fuel:
Sugarcane plants are the most efficient convertors of sunlight energy into chemical energy. The
cheap source of alcohol is molasses. It is a dark coloured thick syrupy liquid left after the
crystallization of sugar from sugarcane juice. It still contains about 40% of sugar which cannot be
obtained by crystallization.
Fermentation of molasses in presence of yeast (which contains the enzymes invertase and zymase)
gives alcohol (ethanol).
Fermentation may be defined as the slow decomposition of big organic molecules into simpler
molecules in presence of enzymes.
Since alcohol is a cleaner fuel which gives only carbon dioxide and water as by products on burning in
excess of air or oxygen, therefore, some countries now use alcohol as a fuel in internal combustion
engines in form of power alcohol. Power alcohol is a mixture of absolute alcohol (100% alcohol) and
petrol in the ratio 20 : 80. Since alcohol does not mix with petrol, therefore, a third solvent, i.e.,
benzene is used to dissolve them. It is also used as a fuel in stoves and spirit lamps.
Drunken driving: Every year thousands of people die and many more are injured as a result
of drunken driving. In many countries, police use a device called breath analyzer to test
drivers suspected of being intoxicated. The driver is made to exhale and the exhaled breath
is passed into the breath analyzer where it is treated with an acidified solution of K2Cr2O7.
If the breath contains alcohol, the colour of the solution changes from orange yellow to
green. The following reaction occurs :
(iv) Occurrence:
Ethanoic acid is known as vinegar, from ancient times. Vinegar is essentially a dilute solution of
ethanoic acid in water. The acid is also present some fruit juice. In the combined form, it is also
present in many perfumed oils. Ethanoic acid was first prepared in the pure state by Stahl in 1720.
Physical Properties:
• Ethanoic acid is a colourless viscous liquid but has a pungent and irritating smell of vinegar.
• It dissolves in water, alcohol and ether. Its dissolution in water takes place with the evolution
of heat and decrease in volume of the solution.
• The melting point of ethanoic acid is 290 K and hence it often if freezes during winter in cold
climates. Therefore, it is named as glacial acetic acid.
Chemical Properties:
Ethanoic acid is a monobasic acid. It has a replaceable hydrogen atom in its – COOH group.
Therefore, it neutralizes alkalis.
(A) It reacts with a solution of sodium hydroxide to form sodium propanoate and water.
Sodium propanoate is an ionic compound which dissolves in polar solvents such as water, but does
not dissolves in non polar solvents such as alcohol, propanone etc.
(B) It reacts with sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate with the evolution of CO2 gas.
(C) It reacts with metals like sodium, zinc and magnesium to liberate hydrogen gas.
When ethanoic acid is heated with ethanol in presence of small quantity of conc. H2SO4 ethyl
ethanoate, a sweet smelling ester, is formed.
(iii) Decarboxylation:
USES:
• Dilute aqueous solution (5-8%) of ethanoic acid is called vinegar, which is used to preserve
food (sausage, pickles, etc.).
• Ethanoic acid also finds application in the preparation of propanone, chloroethanoic acid,
ethanoates of metals etc.
Add small amount of blue litmus solution to the given compound. If the blue litmus solution turns
red, it indicates that the organic compound is ethanoic acid.
Take a small portion of the organic compound in a test tube and add a pinch of solid sodium
bicarbonate. Evolution of carbon dioxide with brisk effervescence shows the presence of carboxylic
acid.
When a mixture of ethanoic acid and ethanol is heated in the presence of concentrated sulphuric
acid, a fruity smelling ester, ethyl ethanoate, is produced.
Most of the fuels we use (coal, wood, CNG, LPG, petrol, kerosene, diesel etc.) are either carbon or its
compounds. So, we should know their chemical properties to understand their nature.
COMBUSTION:
Carbon in all its allotropic forms burns in air or oxygen to give carbon dioxide and releases energy in
the form of heat and light.
Most carbon compound also release a large amount of heat and light on burning.
Saturated hydrocarbons will generally give a clean flame while unsaturated carbon compounds will
give a yellow flame with lots of black smoke. This results in a sooty deposit on the metal plate.
However, limited supply of air results even in incomplete combustion of saturated hydrocarbons
giving a sooty flame.
The most common fuels contain a high percentage of carbon, so it is obviously very important to
burn them completely. The incomplete combustion of fuels has the following disadvantages:
(i) Incomplete combustion in insufficient supply of air, leads to unburnt carbon in the form of soot
which pollutes the atmosphere, blackens cooking utensils, and blocks chimneys in factories.
(ii) The incomplete combustion also leads to the formation of an extremely poisonous gas called
carbon monoxide.
(iii) A yet another disadvantage is that the incomplete combustion of a fuel produces less heat than
that produced by complete combustion.
OXIDATION:
Addition of oxygen to any substance is called oxidation and the substances which are capable of
adding oxygen to other substances are called oxidizing agents.
We have discussed above the combustion of carbon compounds. Combustion, in fact, means
complete oxidation. In addition to this complete oxidation, there are reactions in which partial
oxidation occurs. Partial oxidation of substances is carried out by using certain oxidizing agents.
Alkaline potassium permanganate and acidified potassium dichromate are good oxidizing agents.
These can easily oxidize alcohols to carboxylic acids. For example,
To demonstrate oxidation of alcohols to carboxylic acids, let us perform the following experiment.
Take about 3 ml of ethanol in a test tube and warm it gently in a water bath. Add a 5% solution of
alkaline potassium permanganate drop by drop to this solution. The pink colour of potassium
permanganate will disappear due to the oxidation of ethanol to ethanoic acid and a brown
precipitate of manganese dioxide will be formed due to the reduction of potassium permanganate by
ethanol.
SUBSTITUTION REACTION:
The reaction in which an atom or group of atoms in a molecule is replaced or substituted by different
atoms or group of atoms are called substitution reactions. Saturated hydrocarbons are fairly
unreactive. For example, chlorine does not react with methane at room temperature. However, in
the presence of sunlight the reaction of chlorine and hydrocarbons is fairly fast reaction. It gives a
variety of products.
In this reaction H - atom of methane has been replaced by a –CI atom converting CH4, to CH3Cl.
However, if CI2 is used in excess, all the hydrogen atoms are replaced by chlorine atom one by one.
ADDITION REACTION:
Reactions which involve addition of two reactants to form a single product are called addition
reactions.
Due to the presence of double and triple bonds, unsaturated hydrocarbons are more reactive and
hence add hydrogen in presence of a catalyst such as nickel, platinum or palladium to form saturated
hydrocarbons. This process is called catalytic hydrogenation.
For example,
This addition reaction is commonly used in the hydrogenation (addition of hydrogen) of vegetable
oils (such as soyabean oil, cotton seed oil, groundnut oil etc.) in presence of nickel as catalyst to form
fats (vegetable ghee such as Gagan, Rath, Dalda, etc.).
Vegetable oils generally have long unsaturated carbon chains while animal fats have saturated
carbon chains.
1. When vegetable oils are exposed to hot and humid weather for a long time, they turn rancid, i.e.,
they develop unpleasant smell and taste. This process of developing unpleasant smell and taste is
called rancidity and occurs due to the formation of carboxylic acids and aldehydes by the action of
oxygen and moisture on the long unsaturated carbon chains present in vegetable oils. Hydrogenation
reduces (but does not eliminate) the number of such unsaturated carbon chains and hence slows
down the development of rancidity.
2. Vegetable oils are good for health. Saturated carbon chains present in saturated fats increase the
level of bad cholesterol (LDL, low density lipoprotein) in blood which sticks to the walls of the
arteries and thus causes coronary heart disease. Vegetable oils (like Sundrop, Saffola, Fortune etc.)
are good for health. On the other hand, animal fats like ‘ghee’ and butter (desi ghee) contain
saturated fatty acids which are said to be bad for health. Therefore, oils containing unsaturated fatty
acids should be used for cooking.
Catalysts are substances which alter the rate of chemical reactions without undergoing any
overall chemical change themselves. In most cases, catalysts are used to accelerate the
reactions (positive catalyst). For example, iron in the reaction,
Certain catalyst can slow down reaction. For example, glycerine is added to hydrogen
peroxide as negative catalyst in order to slow down its rate of decomposition.