Carbon And its Compounds

Assess Yourself

Q. 1. Write the molecular formula of an alkene and alkane with twenty carbon
atoms.

Answer: The general molecular formula of an alkane is written as CnH2n+2, and the
general formula of an alkene is written as CnH2n where ‘n’ is the number of carbon
atoms.

Now for n=20, the molecular formula of

a) Alkane will be C20H2x20+2 or C20H42

b) Alkene will be C20H2x20 or C20H40

Q. 2. A compound has molecular formula C2H6O. It is usable as fuel. Identify the

compound.

Answer: The compound is ethanol (C2H5OH). Ethanol is used as a fuel in certain

places as it is cleaner, and would give rise to only carbon dioxide and water on burning
in the sufficient amount of air.

Q. 3. The molecular formulae of two members of a homologous series are C3H4

and C6H10. Write the molecular formula of the member with five carbon atoms in a
molecule.

Answer: One can observe that the given compounds belong to the “alkyne” family,
where the molecular formula can be generally represented as CnH2n-2. Here, ‘n’ denotes
the number of carbon atoms.

For a molecule with 5 carbon atoms, n=5 and hence the molecular formula will be
C5H2x5-2 or C5H8 (pentyne)

Q. 4. Which of the following are carboxylic acids:

C2H4O2, C2H4O, C2H6O, C3H6O2?

Answer: Carboxylic acids are compounds where one or more hydrogen atoms are
replaced by the -COOH group:
Note that every carboxylic acid contains 2 O (oxygen) atoms. The carboxylic acids with
no other functional groups have the molecular formula CnH2nO2.

Using this, one can say that C2H4O2 (ethanoic acid) and C3H6O2 (propanoic acid) are
carboxylic acids.

Q. 5. A vegetable oil contains two double bonds in its molecule. How many moles
of hydrogen gas are required for complete hydrogenation of 1 mole of oil?

Answer: Consider the following reaction:

Note that one double bond is hydrogenated using 1 mole of H2.

∴ If there are 2 double bonds in the vegetable oil, then 2 moles of H2 will be required for
complete hydrogenation of 1 mole of the oil.

Q. 6. Which alcohol is used in cough syrups and tonics?

Answer: Ethanol (C2H5OH) is used in cough syrups and tonics because it is a very
good solvent.

Q. 7. Is ethanol harmful for drinking? If yes, why?

Answer: Ethanol is harmful for drinking. Drinking ethanol in small amounts causes
drunkenness. If it is consumed in large quantities, then it can slow down metabolic
processes and affect the central nervous system. This will lead to lack of coordination,
mental confusion, stupour etc.

Q. 8. What is the effect of drinking methanol?

Answer: When methanol is consumed, it is oxidised to methanal in the liver. Methanal

reacts rapidly with the components of cell, leading to the coagulation of protoplasm.
Consumption of methanol can also damage the optic nerve, resulting in blindness.
Q. 9. An organic compound ‘A’ of molecular formula C2H4O2 turns blue litmus red
and gives brisk effervescence with NaHCO3. Identify ‘A’ and give chemical
reaction.

Answer: Given that A turns blue litmus red. So A is acidic in nature.

Brisk effervescence with NaHCO3 indicates carbon dioxide as one of the products.

The molecular formula of A contains 2 oxygen atoms. So the compound is likely to be a

carboxylic acid (general molecular formula is CnH2nO2)

Here n=2 and hence the compound A is ethanoic acid. The reaction is given by:

CH3COOH + NaHCO3→ CH3COONa + H2O + CO2

Q. 10. Which type of synthetic detergents are biodegradable?

Answer: Detergents are cleansing agents which are ammonium or sulphonate salts of
long chain carboxylic acids.

Synthetic detergents which consist of continuous chains of carbon are more

biodegradable when compared to the branched-chain synthetic detergents.

Q. 11. Explain why carbon generally forms compounds by covalent bonds.

Answer: The reactivity of elements is described by the tendency to attain noble gas
configuration (to attain a completely filled outer shell).

Carbon has 4 electrons in its outermost shell. So to attain completely filled outer shell, it
can choose to accept 4 additional electrons or lose the 4 valence electrons to have
noble gas configuration, but this is extremely difficult as the above mentioned processes
are energetically unfavourable.

To overcome the above issue(s), the valence electrons are shared with other atoms and
these shared electrons belong to outer shells of both atoms. The bond so formed by
sharing the valence electrons is called covalent bonding. This way both atoms form a
molecule and attain noble gas configuration.

Q. 12. Select alkene and alkyne from the following:

C6H12, C3H4, C2H4, CH4, C4H8, C5H8

Answer: The general molecular formula of alkenes and alkynes containing ‘n’ number
of carbon atoms is CnH2n and CnH2n-2.
Using this one can see that,

Alkenes: C6H12, C2H4, C4H8

Alkynes: C3H4, C5H8

Note that molecular formula alone is not sufficient to uniquely identify a compound. For
example, C6H12 can mean hexane (unsaturated hydrocarbon) as well as cyclohexane
(saturated cyclic hydrocarbon).

Q. 13. What is the IUPAC name of

(i) CH3 – CH2 – CH = CH2

(ii) CH3CHO?

Answer: (i) Butene

(ii) Ethanal

Q. 14. Write the IUPAC name of

Answer: (i) Butanone

(ii) Propan-2-ol

Here, the –OH group is attached to the second carbon. Count the carbon atoms such
that the carbon containing the functional group gets the lowest number.

(iii) Methanoic acid

(iv) Methyl ethanoate

The carbon group (alkyl part obtained from alcohol) attached to O of –COO group
(denoted by R’) is mentioned in the first part of IUPAC name.
The carbon chain obtained from carboxylic acid (denoted by R) is represented in the
second part of the name (the –oate part).

Q. 15. Which property of ethanol makes it suitable for preparing medicines such
as tincture of iodine, cough syrups and other tonics?

Answer: Ethanol is a good solvent which makes it suitable for preparing medicines.

Q. 16. What is the function of conc.H2SO4 in the formation of ethene from

ethanol?

Answer: Concentrated sulphuric acid (conc.H2SO4) acts as a dehydrating agent in the

conversion from ethanol to ethene. It helps in removing water molecule (more
specifically, the –OH group from one carbon and –H from the other carbon) in the
following reaction.

Q. 17. Why are carboxylic acids called weak acids? Name the alcohol which
produces methanoic acid on oxidation.

Answer: The strength of acid is determined by its ability to produce H+ in solutions.

Unlike mineral acids, the carboxylic acids (of the form RCOOH) do not completely
ionise. They partially ionise to give H+ and RCOO-. Therefore they are called weak
acids.

Methanol on oxidation in the presence of a strong oxidising agent like alkaline KMnO 4
produces methanoic acid.

Q. 18. Complete the following reactions:

Answer: (i) This is an example of neutralization reaction

CH3COOH + NaOH → CH3COONa + H2O

(iii) Alcohols will get oxidised to acids in the presence of MoO3 which is an oxidising
agent. In this case, methanol (CH3OH) gets oxidised to methanoic acid (HCOOH).

(iv) CH2 = CH2 + Br → CH2Br—CH2Br

This is an example of addition reaction.

(v) CH3COOC2H5 + NaOH → CH3COOH + C2H5OH

This is an example of saponification reaction and is used in the preparation of soaps.

(vi)

This is an addition reaction, where H+ is added to one of the carbon and OH- is added to
the other carbon.

Q. 19. (i) Why do we add ethanol to petrol in these days?

(ii) Give one use of ethanol in medicines.

(iii) Why is vinegar used in pickles?

Answer: (i) Ethanol is added to petrol because ethanol is a cleaner fuel which when
burnt in a sufficient amount of air to give carbon dioxide and water.

(ii) Ethanol is a good solvent and is widely used in cough syrups and tonics.

(iii) Vinegar is a commonly used preservative. It helps in storing food for a long time.

Q. 20. (a) Identify the compounds ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ in the following reactions:

Answer: (a) (i) A – CH3CH2COOC2H5

(ii) B – CH3COOH

(iii) C – CH4

(b) The compound X is benzene (C6H6). The structural formula is

Generally, bromine water gets decolourised when it is added to an unsaturated

compound. But the double bonds in the benzene are delocalised which increases its
stability or decreases its reactivity. Benzene will not undergo addition reaction with
bromine water.

Therefore, benzene does not decolourise bromine water.

Q. 21. (a) A compound ‘X’ is C2H4. Draw its electron dot structure. Will it dissolve
in water or not? Will it conduct electricity in aqueous solution? Will it have high
melting or low melting point?
(b) A compound ‘X’ has molecular formula C4H10. It undergoes substitution
reaction readily than addition reaction. It burns with blue flame. It is present in
LPG. Identify ‘X’ and give the balanced equation for its combustion and
substitution reaction with Cl2 in presence of sunlight.

(c) Why are vegetable oils healthy as compared to vegetable ghee? How are
vegetable oils converted into vegetable ghee? Name the process.

Answer: (a) The electron dot structure of ethene is

Ethene is a non-polar molecule and will not dissolve in water (polar solvent). Since it
does not produce ions in water, ethene does not conduct electricity in aqueous
solutions. Ethene is a covalent molecule and has low melting point.

(b) The compound X is butane.

Balanced equation for combustion of butane:

2C4H10 + 13O2→ 8CO2 + 10H2O

Substitution reaction with Cl2 in the presence of sunlight:

C4H10 + Cl2→ C4H9Cl + HCl

C4H9Cl + Cl2→ C4H8Cl2 + HCl

The substitution reaction continues until all H is replaced by Cl.

(c) Vegetable oils contain unsaturated carbon chains whereas vegetable ghee contains
saturated carbon chains which are said to be harmful to health.

Vegetable oils are converted into vegetable ghee by the process of hydrogenation in the
presence of a catalyst like nickel.

Q. 22. A prestigious school of Delhi has large canteen which sells burgers,
patties, cold drink, Pizzas, Samosas, chips, etc. Most of the children enjoy eating
these junk food. School authorities have asked them to sell fresh fruit juices,
sprouts, boiled corns, fresh fruits, nimbupani etc. but sale of these items is very
less. Some children take sips from same cold drink bottle and bites of same
burger.

(a) Which preservative is present in cold drinks?

(b) Which acid is present in vinegar added to vegetable chowmien?

(c) What will you do to make people aware that junk food is harmful for health?
Give two suggestions.

(d) What is wrong/right in sipping cold drinks from same bottle or biting same
burger by many students? Give one reason.

(e) Do you think junk food and cold drinks should be banned in school canteen as
per the directive of Hon’ble High Court’s order? Give two reasons in support of
your answer.

Answer: (a) The most commonly used preservative in cold drinks is sodium benzoate
which is the sodium salt of benzoic acid. Some carboxylic acids are also used as
preservatives.

(b) Ethanoic acid (also called acetic acid) is present in vinegar.

(c) One can organise talk shows, or presentations regarding the health issues
associated with junk food. If possible, posters and other articles could be shared among
people using social media.

(d) Sipping from the same cold drink or biting the same burger by many students may
result in spread of harmful bacteria and other microorganisms if one of the students is
ill. Therefore it is advised not to do so.

(e) Yes, junk food should be banned from school canteen because it consists of artificial
preservatives and additives which are harmful to our health. Moreover, continuous
consumption of junk food and cold drinks may decrease the ability to control the
appetite.

Q. 23. Government of India is imposing ban on the use of polythene bags for
shopping. List four advantages of using cloth or jute bags over polythene bags.

Answer: The advantages of using cloth bags over polythene bags include

(a) Polythene bags are practically non-bio-degradable. The improper disposal of such
bags would result in soil pollution. Cloth bags are bio-degradable and will not pollute the
environment.
(b) Usage of cloth bags would promote the cottage industries which produce cloth bags.

(c) Cloth bags are more durable when compared to polythene bags.

(d) The production processes of polythene bags involve in the emission of harmful
chemicals.