Catalytic cracking is a vital industrial process used in oil refineries to break down heavy, long-chain hydrocarbons into shorter, more useful alkanes and alkenes.
A molecule of hexadecane, C16H34\text{C}_{16}\text{H}_{34}C16H34, undergoes cracking to form one molecule of ethene, C2H4\text{C}_2\text{H}_4C2H4, one molecule of propene, C3H6\text{C}_3\text{H}_6C3H6, and one molecule of a liquid alkane with the formula CxH24\text{C}_x\text{H}_{24}CxH24.
C16H34→C2H4+C3H6+CxH24 \text{C}_{16}\text{H}_{34} \rightarrow \text{C}_2\text{H}_4 + \text{C}_3\text{H}_6 + \text{C}_x\text{H}_{24} C16H34→C2H4+C3H6+CxH24Determine the value of x x\,x in the formula of the liquid alkane.
Practise Edexcel GCSE Chemistry Fuels with exam-style questions for Foundation and Higher tier. 100 questions, matched to the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry (1CH0) specification and written in Paper 1 and Paper 2 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.