ACT Science Question of the Day
Test your knowledge with a hand-picked multiple-choice question.
Crude oil contains a variety of hydrocarbons (compounds containing only the element hydrogen and carbon) and the separation of these hydrocarbons produces useful products. Hydrocarbon separation is usually done by a process called distillation in which the compound is heated. The gas produced from heating is then condensed to form useful liquids. Table 1 displays the typical products made from distilling crude oil.
| Distillation Temperature (°C) | Number of Carbon Atoms | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Below 30 | 1-4 | Natural Gas |
| 31-200 | 5-12 | Gasoline |
| 201-250 | 13-16 | Kerosene, Jet fuel |
| 251-350 | 17-18 | Diesel fuel, heating oil |
| 351-450 | 19-20 | Lubricating oil |
Table 1- Typical Hydrocarbon Mixtures Obtained by Distillation of Crude Oil
All names for single bonded hydrocarbons have the root word “ane”. The prefix in naming is determined by the number of carbons present. For instance, the prefix for a compound having one carbon is “meth”, so the name would be methane. Hydrogen is added to the final structure to satisfy the octet rule. Table 2 lists the names of the prefixes.
Isomers are compounds with the same molecular (number of carbon atoms) formula but different structural (way in which the atoms can be arranged) formula. Which product contains the hydrocarbon likely to have the most isomers?