Crude oil is the raw material from which bottled gas,
fuels, plastics and many other products are made.
Cars, lorries and buses use either petrol or diesel.
Aircraft , including the Air Ambulance helicopters,
use a special fuel called kerosene or aviation fuel.
Kerosene is one of the fractions from crude oil obtained by distillation. Some
kerosene is obtained by cracking larger hydrocarbon molecules.
1. Describe the appearance of crude oil.
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2. Crude oil is an example of a fossil fuel. How are fossil fuels formed?
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3. What property of the different fractions allows them to be separated by
fractional distillation?
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4. The molecular formula for one type of kerosene is C13H28. Draw the
displayed formula for this type of kerosene.
5. When large hydrocarbon molecules are cracked, high temperatures and
a catalyst are used.
(a) What is the job of the catalyst?
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(b) What is the advantage to the petrochemical industry of being able to
crack large hydrocarbon molecules?
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6. The UK relies on oil supplies from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Libya and
Saudi Arabia.
How might this reliance affect future supplies of oil?
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