Alexa Ysabel D.

Liwag September 26,

2019 Group No. 2 11-
Chemistry-3A

CHEMISTRY 3
EXPERIMENT NO. 2
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF HYDROCARBONS

I. INTRODUCTION

Hydrocarbons are organic compounds composed of only hydrogen and

carbon atoms. Such hydrocarbons are classified according to the types of bonds
they contain: alkanes composed of only single bonds, alkenes having one or more
double bonds between carbons, alkynes having one or more triple bonds between
carbons, and aromatic compounds having a benzene ring. These can be grouped
into saturated hydrocarbons containing only single bonds between carbons, or
unsaturated hydrocarbons which have double or triple bonds between carbons.

Solubility is one of the important physical properties of hydrocarbons.

Hydrocarbons are held by london dispersion or Van der Waal’s forces, the weakest
type of intermolecular force. Because of this, they are usually non-polar substances.
This makes them insoluble or immiscible in water and other polar solvents, but
soluble or miscible in non-polar, organic solvents such as dichloromethane. Volatility
is another important physical property of hydrocarbons. Since hydrocarbons are
bonded by weak intermolecular forces, majority of them are very volatile.

Hydrocarbons are also combustable, meaning they burn in the reaction with
oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water. Reactions of hydrocarbons with
compounds like Bromine, Potassium Permanganate, and Concentrated Sulfuric Acid
are also observed to differentiate the compounds’ based on behavior. Unsaturated
carbons tend to react readily with bromine, forming a colorless liquid. Unsaturated
hydrocarbons also react readily with potassium permanganate, a strong oxidizing
agent, forming a brown precipitate from a dark red-violet liquid. Alkenes have rapid
reactions with sulfuric acid, alkynes however show a slow reaction.

This experiment aims to determine and verify the physical and chemical
properties of certain hydrocarbons: benzene, butane, cyclohexane, hexane, hexene,
and acetylene gas. Specifically, it chooses to focus on solubility, volatility,
flammability and combustability, and reactions with bromine, potassium
permanganate and sulfuric acid. The experiment also aims to determine a specific
unknown compound based on the results of the tests aforementioned.
II. METHODOLOGY

Due to the availability of materials and safety precautions in the laboratory,

only hexane, cyclohexane, and the unknown sample were tested. The expected
outcomes of the tests involving hexene and benzene were recorded. Tests were
performed simultaneously to maximize time.

The solubility of the three hydrocarbons in water and an organic solvent,

petroleum ether was tested. 20 drops of each compound were placed into separate
test tubes. Then, 20 drops of water were added to each test tube, which were then
shaken well. The same process was repeated with petroleum ether in place of water.
Observations were recorded.

To test for volatility, 2 separate evaporating dishes with 20 drops of butane,

hexane and the unknown sample were placed under the fume hood. The time for the
liquids to fully evaporate was recorded.

To test for flammability and observe different combustion reactions, 5 drops of

each of the 3 available hydrocarbon samples were placed in separate evaporating
dishes. Under the fume hood, a match was lighted and the sample was quickly
ignited. Observations on the flame and smoke produced were recorded.

To test for reactivity with bromine, 10 drops of each hydrocarbon sample

available were placed in separate test tubes under the fume hood. The time taken for
a reaction to occur was recorded.

To test for reactivity with 2% potassium permanganate, 10 drops of each

hydrocarbon sample were placed into separate test tubes. 3 drops of the 2%
potassium permanganate solution were added to the test tubes. Observations on
color change were recorded.

To test for reactivity with sulfuric acid, an amber container of sulfuric acid was
placed in an ice bath. 10 drops of the hydrocarbon samples were added again to
clean, separate test tubes. With careful shaking, 3 drops of the cold sulfuric acid
were added to each of the test tubes and observations were recorded.

Figure 2.1. Set Up for Obtaining Acetylene Gas

 After the following reactions and tests, the properties of acetylene gas were
observed. To obtain acetylene gas, the set-up as shown in figure 2.1 must be
followed. The water from the separatory funnel was slowly released and dropped into
the flask containing CaC2. Using water displacement method, the acetylene was
collected and placed into test tubes. The flammability, bromine, and potassium
permanganate tests were conducted.

All organic wastes formed were poured into a designated container. Those
containing potassium permanganate were poured into another container.

III. DATA AND OBSERVATIONS

Table 1. Physical Properties of Hydrocarbons

Compound Solubility in Solubility in Pet. Volatility
Water Ether
Butane Very volatile
Cyclohexane immiscible miscible
Benzene immiscible miscible
Alkyne immiscible miscible
Hexane immiscible miscible Very volatile
Hexene immiscible miscible
Unknown immiscible miscible Volatile
Compound

Table 2. Chemical Properties of Hydrocarbons

Compound Reaction Reaction with Reaction Flammability
with Potassium with Conc. Test
Bromine Permanganate Sulfuric
Acid
Acetylene Colorless Brown precipitate Very reactive
liquid formed formed flame, high
amount of
soot formed
Cyclohexane No reaction No reaction No reaction Soot formed
Benzene Colorless Brown precipitate Rapid High amount
liquid formed formed reaction of soot formed
Hexane No reaction No reaction No reaction Not much soot
formed
Hexene Colorless Brown precipitate Rapid High amount
liquid formed formed reaction of soot formed
Unknown No reaction No reaction No reaction Soot formed
Compound
Figure 3.1. Soot in hexane(right), cyclohexane, and unkown compound(left) Figure 3.2. Bromine test results in hexane,
cyclohexane and unknown compound

Figure 3.3 Potassium Permanganate with Cyclohexane, Unknown Compound, and Hexane

Figure 3.4 Solubility Test Results, (from left) cyclohexane with water and petroleum ether, unknown compound with water and
petroleum ether, hexane with water and petroleum ether
IV. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

Upon performing the test for solubility, it can be said that the physical property
of hydrocarbons as non-polar compounds is verified. All hydrocarbons were
observed to be immiscible in water, but miscible in petroleum ether, an organic,
nonpolar, solvent. This proves that hydrocarbons are usually nonpolar.

After letting butane, hexane, and the unknown sample evaporate, it is clear
how volatile the given hydrocarbon substances were. Between the two known
compounds, butane and hexane, butane is recorded to be more volatile or vaporizes
at a quicker rate. It is observed that as the number of carbons in the chain increases,
volatility decreases.

After igniting the available hydrocarbons, hexane was proven to form little to
no soot, while the unknown compound and cyclohexane produced a moderate
amount of soot. Acetylene, an alkyne produced a large amount of soot after a violent
flame. Alkenes such as benzene and hexene are also expected to produce large
amounts of soot. It can be inferred that alkanes tend to produce less soot after the
combustion reaction. Soot is a byproduct of incomplete combustion. This may mean
that the combustion reaction of saturated hydrocarbons are more complete than
those of unsaturated hydrocarbons. The flammability test or test for combustivity
may be used to distinguish alkenes and alkanes, as it is now known that when
ignited, alkanes produce less soot than alkenes.

The addition of bromine to the hydrocarbons also shows the difference in

behavior of the compounds. In hexane, cyclohexane, and the unknown compound,
the bromine did not cause a reaction and only a top layer of bromine was formed.
However, acetylene was able to react with bromine to create a colorless liquid. It is
easy to say that among the 4 compounds tested, acetylene was the most reactive
with bromine. But among acetylene, hexene, and benzene, it is unsure which would
form a colorless liquid the fastest.

When potassium permanganate was added to the different available

hydrocarbon samples, only acetylene produced a reaction as it formed a brown
precipitate. The hexane, cyclohexane, and unknown compound did not react with the
potassium permanganate, as the hydrocarbons formed a layer above the potassium
permanganate. It is expected that benzene and hexene will also produce brown
precipitates as the hydrocarbons are alkenes.

The cold sulfuric acid did not react with the hexane, cyclohexane, and
unknown sample but is expected to react with alkenes such as benzene and hexene.
V. CONCLUSION

Hydrocarbons, specifically alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes, have many different

physical and chemical properties that differ them from one another. All hydrocarbons
are insoluble in water but soluble in nonpolar, organic solvents. Volatility varies from
the length of carbon chain in hydrocarbons. Saturated carbons like hexane and
cyclohexane have more complete combustion in relation to unsaturated carbons like
benzene, hexene, and acetylene. Unsaturated carbons readily react to bromine and
permanganate, but only alkenes react to concentrated sulfuric acid.

The unkown compound used in the study may be a cycloalkane, as it does

not react with bromine, potassium permanganate, and sulfuric acid, and forms
similar soot with the cyclohexane after being ignited. From this, we can conclude that
through identifying the various physical and chemical properties of hydrocarbons, we
can identify the type of hydrocarbon an unknown compound is.
SOURCES

Properties of Hydrocarbons (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.mendelset.com/articles/ 689/properties_hydrocarbons.

BYJUS (2019). Benzene - C6H6, Structure, Properties, Resonance & Aromaticity,

Uses. Available at: https://byjus.com/chemistry/benzene/.

1-Hexene (n.d.). Retrieved from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/1-

Hexene

University of Calgary. (n.d.). Soot. Retrieved from

https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Soot