Rasheed George Ms.

Luke
SVGCC October 15, 2022
Chemistry Lab #1

TITLE: Alkanes & Alkenes

AIM: To identify alkanes and alkenes using their physical and chemical properties.
APPARATUS: Test tubes (10), Test tube racks (2), Watch glass (2), Lighter/ Matches, 50ml
Beaker (2), Acidified Potassium Dichromate, Acidified Potassium Permanganate, Droppers (3),
Hexane (15ml), Cyclohexene (15ml), Distilled water (3ml), Acetone (3ml), Bromine water.
METHOD:
A. Combustion
Ten (10) drops of hexane were placed on a watch glass. The liquid was then ignited using the
lighter provided. Observations were made before, during and after burning. Steps 1-3 were
repeated using Cyclohexene instead of hexane.
B. Solubility Tests
Approximately 2ml of distilled water was added to a clean test tube. An equal volume of hexane
was then added to the water. The contents of the test tube were shaken. The test tube was left to
stand, and observations were made and recorded. The above procedure was repeated using acetone
(propanone) as the solvent. The entire procedure was then repeated using Cyclohexene instead of
hexane.
C. Oxidation
Approximately 1 ml of hexane was added to a clean test tube. Approximately 1 ml of acidified
potassium dichromate solution was added to the test tube and the contents of the test tube shaken.
The test tube was then placed in the water bath for 5 minutes. Observations were made and
recorded. The above procedure was repeated using acidified potassium permanganate instead of
acidified potassium dichromate. The entire procedure was repeated using Cyclohexene instead of
hexane.
D. Reaction with Bromine Water (to be done in the fume cupboard)
Ten (10)drops of Bromine Water were added to a clean test tube. Approximately 1ml of hexane
was added to the test tube and shaken. Observations were made and recorded. The entire procedure
was repeated using Cyclohexene instead of hexane
Rasheed George Ms. Luke
SVGCC October 15, 2022
Chemistry Lab #1

RESULTS:
TABLE 1: TABLE SHOWING THE OBSERVATIONS MADE WITH HEXANE AND
CYCLOHEXENE BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER UNDERGOING COMBUSTION.

HYDROCARBON OBSERVATION

Before During After

Hexane Transparent Liquid Burned with an No Hexane residue

orange flame, little remained
black smoke

Cyclohexene Transparent Liquid Burned with an Most of the Compound

orange flame, a lot of disappeared, however,
black smoke was there were little orange
produced. remains in the petri dish.

TABLE 2: TABLE SHOWING OBSERVATIONS MADE WHEN CYCLOHEXANE AND

HEXANE REACTED WITH BOTH WATER AND ACETONE.

MIXTURE OBSERVATIONS (Solubility)

Hexane + Water Hexane did not dissolve; Line of separation was seen where Hexane
floated at the top of the water.

Hexane + Acetone Hexane dissolved.

Cyclohexene + Water Cyclohexene did not dissolve; Line of separation was seen where
Cyclohexene floated at the top of the water.
Rasheed George Ms. Luke
SVGCC October 15, 2022
Chemistry Lab #1

Cyclohexene + Acetone Cyclohexene dissolved.

TABLE 3: TABLE SHOWING THE OBSERVATIONS MADE WHEN HEXANE AND

CYCLOHEXENE REACTED WITH BOTH POTASSIUM DICHROMATE SOLUTION
AND ACIDIFIED POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE.

MIXTURE OBSERVATIONS

Hexane + Potassium Dichromate Solution No change; Solution remained Orange

Hexane + Acidified Potassium Permanganate No change; Solution remained Purple

Cyclohexene + Potassium Dichromate Solution The colour changed from Orange to Green

Cyclohexene + Acidified Potassium Permanganate Solution went from purple to Transparent

TABLE 4: TABLE SHOWING OBSERVATIONS MADE WHEN HEXANE AND

CYCLOHEXENE REACTED WITH BROMINE WATER.

MIXTURE OBSERVATION

Hexane + Bromine Water No reaction occurred; Solution stayed brown.

Cyclohexene + Bromine Water Solution changed from yellow to transparent

Rasheed George Ms. Luke
SVGCC October 15, 2022
Chemistry Lab #1

DISCUSSION:
A hydrocarbon is any of a class of organic chemicals made
up of only the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). The carbon atoms
join together to form the framework of the compound, and the hydrogen
atoms attach to them in many different configurations. chemical
compound. They are obtained primarily from natural sources such as
coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Hydrocarbons differ primarily in the
functional group. The major uses of hydrocarbons are as fuels and
solvents. A homologous series is a family of hydrocarbons with similar
chemical properties who share the same general formula, the four (4)
general classes of hydrocarbons are; Alkanes, Alkenes, Alkynes and
Arenes (Aromatic hydrocarbons). In this experiment, Alkanes and
Alkenes were investigated. Alkanes are organic compounds which are
composed of hydrocarbons having only single Carbon to Carbon bonds
between atoms (C−C). They are often referred to as saturated
hydrocarbons because the molecule contains the maximum number of
hydrogen atoms attached to each carbon. Their general formula is
CnH2n+2. However, Alkenes are composed of hydrocarbons containing
at least one carbon-carbon double bond (C=C). They are unsaturated in
that they have two less hydrogens than the corresponding Alkane.
Their general formula is CnH2n. The carbon-carbon double bond is a
point of high reactivity, and most chemical reactions of Alkenes occur
by the addition mechanism where the carbon-carbon double bond is
broken and the reacting molecules are added to the Alkene. In this
Rasheed George Ms. Luke
SVGCC October 15, 2022
Chemistry Lab #1

experiment, Alkanes and Alkenes underwent a series of 4

tests/reactions; they were: Combustion, Solubility test, Oxidation, and
Bromine test.
Firstly, The combustion reaction test was done. When a compound burns in the
presence of oxygen, the reaction is called a combustion reaction. Hydrocarbons are combustible.
The general reaction is given by:
Organic Compound + O2 (g) −−→ CO2 (g) + H2O(g) + Heat/Energy
There are two types of combustion reactions; Incomplete combustion and Complete combustion.
Complete combustion takes place in the presence of a sufficient amount of oxygen while an
incomplete combustion reaction takes place when there is an insufficient amount of oxygen supply,
this causes a smoky flame. Provided the combustion is complete, all the hydrocarbons will burn
with a blue flame. However, if it is not complete (Incomplete) the colour of the flame would be
Yellow/Orange. Based on the information received from the experiment it can be deduced that
both Cyclohexene and Hexane underwent Incomplete combustion, as they both produced an
Orange flame and black smoke when burnt, which is an indication of lack of oxygen. Cyclohexene
produced more black smoke (sooty flame) than Hexane and this is due to the fact that Cyclohexene
has a higher percentage of Carbon in the compound than Hexane.
The equations for both reactions can be seen below:
Hexane: C6H14(aq) + 5O2 (g) −−→ 3CO + 7H2O(g) + 3C(s)
Cyclohexene: C6H10(aq) + 4O2 (g) −−→ 5H2O(g) + 3CO + 3C(s)
Secondly, the test of solubility was done. Solubility follows the rule of “Like dissolves
Like '' meaning that whether or not a compound is soluble is dependent on whether the solvent is
polar or nonpolar; Polar molecules are soluble in other polar molecules and nonpolar molecules
are soluble in other nonpolar molecules. Both Alkenes and Alkanes are nonpolar compounds and
water is polar, therefore following the “Like dissolves Like” rule, these compounds are insoluble
in water. This was seen in the experiment as neither Hexane nor Cyclohexene dissolve in water,
rather a line of separation between these compounds and water was seen, with the compounds
floating at the top which is due to the fact that the density of most hydrocarbons is less than that
of water, and consequently they will float. However in Acetone both compounds are dissolved, as
Rasheed George Ms. Luke
SVGCC October 15, 2022
Chemistry Lab #1

both the compounds and acetone are non-polar. The London dispersion forces formed between the
elements is what is responsible for the dissolution of non polar solute in nonpolar solvents.
Thirdly, the oxidation test was done. Acidic potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7),
orange in colour, is a common inorganic chemical used to oxidise alkenes to ketones and/or
carboxylic acids depending upon the nature of alkene, as it is a test for unsaturation there would
be no oxidation of alkanes as they are saturated. When it reacts with unsaturated hydrocarbons it
produces Cr3+(chromium ion), which is a green compound. This reaction was seen to be positively
carried out as no colour change was seen with the Hexane, as it is saturated, but the cyclohexane
changed from orange to green, indicating that the K2Cr2O7was reduced to Cr3+ and the Alkene
oxidised.
The reaction equations are seen below:
Hexane: C6H14(aq) + K2Cr2O7(aq) −−→ C6H14(aq) + K2Cr2O7(aq) - (No reaction)
Cyclo-Hexene: C6H10(aq) + K2Cr2O7(aq) −−→ C6H12O2(aq)+ Cr2O7 (s)
Potassium permanganate (KMnO4), which is a deep purple solution, is a strong oxidising agent
that reacts with unsaturated hydrocarbons, but does not react with alkanes, as they are saturated. If
there is no reaction, no colour change would be seen, however when it reacts with unsaturated
hydrocarbons it produces MnO2, a brown precipitate, or Mn2+, a colourless solution, but this may
vary with reaction conditions. The carbon-carbon double is oxidised to form alcohols or diols. This
reaction resulted in expectations being met as there was no colour change seen with the Hexane,
but the cyclohexene changed from purple to colourless indicating that the KMnO4 was reduced
and the Alkene oxidised.
The reaction equations are seen below:
Hexane: C6H14(aq) + KMnO4(aq) −−→ C6H14(aq) + KMnO4(aq) -- (No reaction)
Cyclo-Hexene: C6H10(aq) + KMnO4(aq) −−→ C6H12O2(aq) + MnO2(s)
Lastly, the Bromine water test was done; An orange solution of bromine dissolved
in water, called bromine water, is used to distinguish between alkanes and alkenes: there is no
change when bromine water is mixed with an alkane the bromine water becomes colourless when
it is mixed with an alkene. Alkanes do not react spontaneously with bromine water due to the fact
that they are saturated. Bromine is non-polar and therefore dissolves more readily in a non-polar
Rasheed George Ms. Luke
SVGCC October 15, 2022
Chemistry Lab #1

alkane than in polar water. Therefore, when alkanes come into contact with bromine water, they
cause it to decolourise, while they adopt the colour, this is seen as there is no visible colour change
between Hexane and Bromine water. A substitution reaction occurs where one bromine atom
replaces a hydrogen atom in the hexane, forming bromohexane (C6H13Br) and hydrogen bromide
(HBr).
This is shown in the equation below:
C6H14 + Br2 −−−→ C6H13Br + HBr

As it relates to the Alkenes, they react spontaneously with bromine water due to their unsaturated
nature. The reaction between an alkene and bromine involves the breaking open of the alkene’s
double bond and the inclusion of bromine in its structure, which is an additional reaction (addition
reaction). This results in the production of an alkane with two bromine functional groups.
Therefore, when alkenes come into contact with bromine water, they cause it to decolourise, which
is seen in the Cyclohexene compound as it changes colour from yellow to transparent (colourless).
Alkenes will react with the Bromine in the solution to produce the corresponding alkyl bromide
(or dibromoalkane).
The equation for the reaction that took place can be seen below:

C6H10 + Br2 −−−→ C6H10Br2

The mechanism where the colour change occurs shows:

A source of error of this experiment is if any mixture is contaminated or swapped

due to them not being labelled, the wrong results would be obtained.

CONCLUSION: Based on the experiment carried out it was determined that: for the Alkane;
Hexane, this compound undergoes incomplete combustion to form carbon dioxide and water, it is
soluble in Acetone but insoluble in water. It does not undergo oxidation with potassium dichromate
Rasheed George Ms. Luke
SVGCC October 15, 2022
Chemistry Lab #1

or potassium permanganate, and it doesn't react with Bromine water. For the Alkene;
Cyclohexene, the compound undergoes incomplete combustion to form Carbon dioxide, water and
Carbon, It is insoluble in water but soluble in acetone, it undergoes oxidation with both potassium
dichromate and potassium permanganate, and it reacts with Bromine water to form a colourless
solution which is an addition reaction.