ORGANIC CHEMISTRY- SUMMARY
IGCSE 620
Hydrocarbons
• 1. Alkanes; Saturated compounds (single bond); Used
as fuels; Substitution Reactions (light as the catalyst );
Methane, Ethane etc
• 2. Alkenes; Unsaturated compounds (double bonds);
Highly reactive; Addition Reactions; Ethene, Propene
etc
• (Addition of Hydrogen, Halogen, Hydrogen halide,
Steam)
• Test for unsaturated compounds: Using Bromine water:
turns red-brown to colourless
• Hydrocarbons burn to produce CO2 and H2O
• When incomplete combustion occurs, the products are
CO, C and H2O
Petroleum
• Fractional Distillation based on Boiling points.
Fractions include- Petroleum Gas, Petrol, Naphtha,
Kerosene, Diesel, lubricating oil, Bitumen
• Cracking: Meaning and need; Alkene is one product.
• Alcohol: Methanol, Ethanol, Propanol
• Manufacture of Ethanol by Batch process(Yeast)
and continuous process(from ethene) ;
• Advantages and disadvantages of the two methods.
• Homologous Series: alkanes, Alkenes,
Alcohols, Carboxylic acids etc as examples;
• Properties of homologous series
• Formula: Writing molecular formula and
structural formula of organic compounds
• Functional groups: double bond; -OH and
–COOH groups
• Esterification reaction:
Carboxylic acid + Alcohol  Ester + water.
• Naming esters. Use of esters.
• Isomerism: Meaning and writing isomers of
simple alkanes (straight and branched forms)
Polymerisation
• Meaning; two kinds of polymerisations (Addition and
Condensation Polymerisation).
• How to write the polymer structure from the structure of
the monomer; Repeating unit
• Identifying the structure of monomers from the polymer.
• Examples of Addition Polymerisation: Poly ethene, Poly
propene, Poly chloroethene, Poly tetrafluoroethene
• Examples of condensation polymers: Poly ester (Terylene)
and Poly amide (Nylon)
• Natural polymers: Starch (from glucose); Proteins (from
amino acids); Lipids (from glycerol and fatty acids)
• Hydrolysis of macro molecules (digestion) by digestive
enzymes.
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