Crude oil
Students will be assessed on their ability to:
5.6 recall that crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons
5.7 describe how the industrial process of fractional distillation separates crude oil into
fractions
5.8 recall the names and uses of the main fractions obtained from crude oil: refinery gases,
gasoline, kerosene, diesel, fuel oil and bitumen
5.9 describe the trend in boiling point and viscosity of the main fractions
5.10 recall that incomplete combustion of fuels may produce carbon monoxide and explain that
carbon monoxide is poisonous because it reduces the capacity of the blood to carry
oxygen
5.11 recall that, in car engines, the temperature reached is high enough to allow nitrogen and
oxygen from air to react, forming nitrogen oxides
5.12 recall that fractional distillation of crude oil produces more long-chain hydrocarbons than
can be used directly and fewer short-chain hydrocarbons than required
5.13 describe how long-chain alkanes are converted to alkenes and shorter-chain alkanes by
catalytic cracking, using silica or alumina as the catalyst and a temperature in the range of
600–700°C.
