Links Hydrocarbons Revision Questions 
gcsescience.com 29 gcsescience.com
What is the Combustion of Hydrocarbons?
Hydrocarbons are mainly used as fuels.
The burning of a substance in
air is called combustion.
In chemistry, combustion (or burning) means reacting
with oxygen.
Combustion is a form of oxidation.
The main products of combustion
from hydrocarbons
are
carbon dioxide, water and heat.
The reaction is exothermic
(it gives out heat).
The original
source of this energy is the Sun!
Plants take in energy from the
Sun during photosynthesis.
Fossil fuels
(which are the source of hydrocarbons) come
from the decay of plants or the animals
which fed on them.
Combustion of fossil fuels releases the energy which has been
stored up in the plant and animal
remains for millions of years.
Fossil
fuels are a finite resource.
This means that there is only a certain amount of
them.
Fossil fuels are a
non-renewable energy source.
Once used, they are
gone. We would have to
wait for millions of years
for nature to replace
our coal, oil and
natural gas reserves - see renewable.
Links Hydrocarbons Revision Questions
gcsescience.com The Periodic Table Index Hydrocarbons Quiz gcsescience.com
Home GCSE Chemistry GCSE Physics
Copyright © 2015 gcsescience.com. All Rights Reserved.