In this deck, we'll explore the world of organic chemistry, starting with crude oil. You'll learn what hydrocarbons are, how crude oil is separated into useful substances by fractional distillation, and how the properties of these substances are related to their size. We'll also cover a process called cracking, which is essential for meeting our demand for fuels like petrol.

Crude oil is a fossil fuel, formed from the remains of ancient sea creatures over millions of years. It's a complex mixture of many different compounds. The vast majority of these compounds are hydrocarbons. As the name suggests, hydrocarbons are molecules made up of hydrogen and carbon atoms only.

The hydrocarbons found in crude oil are mostly a family of compounds called alkanes. In an alkane molecule, all the carbon atoms are joined to each other by single bonds. Because they only have single bonds, we say they are 'saturated' hydrocarbons. You need to know the general formula for alkanes, which allows you to work out the chemical formula for any alkane if you know the number of carbon atoms.