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SingaporeChemistry

Organic Chemistry

3 dot points across 3 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How are ethanol and ethanoic acid made and used, and how are they linked by oxidation and esterification?

Describe the properties and reactions of ethanol and ethanoic acid, including the production of ethanol, the oxidation of ethanol to ethanoic acid, and the formation of an ester
A focused answer to the O-Level Chemistry outcome on alcohols and carboxylic acids. Making ethanol by fermentation and from ethene, the combustion and oxidation of ethanol to ethanoic acid, the acid reactions of ethanoic acid, and esterification.
9 min answer →

What makes the alkenes more reactive than the alkanes, and how are they tested and turned into polymers?

Describe the alkenes as unsaturated hydrocarbons, explain their addition reactions including the bromine test for unsaturation, and describe addition polymerisation
A focused answer to the O-Level Chemistry outcome on alkenes. The carbon-carbon double bond and unsaturation, the addition reactions of alkenes including the bromine test, and how monomers join by addition polymerisation to form polymers such as poly(ethene).
9 min answer →

What are the alkanes, where do they come from, and what happens when fuels burn?

Describe the alkanes as a homologous series of saturated hydrocarbons from crude oil, write their formulae and combustion equations, and explain complete and incomplete combustion
A focused answer to the O-Level Chemistry outcome on fuels and alkanes. The alkane homologous series of saturated hydrocarbons from crude oil, their general formula, and complete and incomplete combustion with the products and hazards of each.
8 min answer →