What is it
This topic covers crude oil and hydrocarbons, fractional distillation, alkanes and alkenes, cracking, and an introduction to polymers and their uses, with a focus on carbon-based chemistry.
Why it matters
Organic chemistry connects directly to real industries — fuel, plastics, materials — and is a distinctly separate skill set from the inorganic chemistry earlier in the course, so it needs dedicated practice.
Exam tip
Learn to recognise alkanes vs alkenes from their general formulae and the presence of a C=C double bond — this single distinction underlies most naming, formula and reactivity questions on this topic.
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