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What is a Hydrocarbon?

Crude oil is a mixture of substances which are mostly hydrocarbons.

A hydrocarbon is a compound containing hydrogen and carbon only.

Remember the above sentence, you will probably need it in the exam.
Do not forget the word only at the end!

Since crude oil is a mixture of different hydrocarbon compounds,
the different hydrocarbons will have different boiling points.

A sample of crude oil will therefore have a range of boiling points,
and the mixture can be separated by fractional distillation.

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