Fractional Distillation/Cracking

[Insomniac]

Do we need to know fractional distillation/cracking? I was going through some past u3 exams and it was in it. Thanks

[Limista]

Strictly speaking, both these concepts are not supposed to be in the 2013 course. But my teacher taught us what cracking was briefly - this is quite a simple concept to understand. As for fractional distillation, we did not cover this in school.

[jgoudie]

Yep, although cracking is not mention any where near as much as other types of reactions you should know this is the the process of breaking larger hydrocarbons into smaller ones.  What happens is when a large alkane is 'cracked' you produce a smaller alkene and an alkane.

Fraction distillation is important in purifying mixtures, such as those produced when making esters.  You should know the basic principles of how fractional distillation works.  (ie. separation due to boiling points)

Hope this helps

Do we need to know fractional distillation/cracking? I was going through some past u3 exams and it was in it. Thanks