Science revision

The use of fossil fuels, for example in vehicle engines and power stations, causes air
pollution. The table shows some of the common air pollutants and how they are formed.

Some of the common air pollutants and how they are formed

pollutant how it is formed

carbon monoxide incomplete combustion of the fuel in car engines

oxides of nitrogen, NOx formed from the heat and pressures found in a car engine

sulfur dioxide sulfur impurities in the fuel burn

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) react with other pollutants in
sunlight to form a photochemical smog, which causes breathing difficulties. NOx and sulphur
dioxide also form acid rain. This has several effects on the environment, including:
 killing plants and aquatic life
 eroding stonework
 corroding metals

Fractional distillation is used to separate crude oil into simpler, more useful mixtures.
This method can be used because different hydrocarbons have different boiling
points.

Fractional distillation
During the fractional distillation of crude oil:

 heated crude oil enters a tall fractionating column, which is hot at

the bottom and gets cooler towards the top
 vapours from the oil rise through the column
 vapours condense when they become cool enough
 liquids are led out of the column at different heights
Small hydrocarbon molecules have weak intermolecular forces, so they have low
boiling points. They do not condense, but leave the column as gases. Long
hydrocarbon molecules have stronger intermolecular forces, so they have high
boiling points. They leave the column as hot liquid bitumen.

Metallic structure and bonding

In metals, the electrons leave the outer shells of metal atoms, forming positive
metal ions and a 'sea' of delocalized electrons. Metals are solids at room
temperature, so the structure of a solid metal consists of closely packed metal ions.
These ions are arranged in a regular way to form a metallic lattice structure. The
lattice has layers of metal ions.