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Runny Oil Coursework.

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Runny Oil Coursework Introduction and rough background information Crude oil is a mixture of substances made from hydrogen and carbon (hydrocarbon), gasoline (petrol) is made from oil. How Oil Is Made.... It starts of as plankton in the sea v The plankton then dies and falls to the sea bed v The dead plankton is then covered in sand rocks and silt v At this point the plankton is at a low temperature and incredible pressure v The plankton does not decompose completely, due to the lack of oxygen and bacteria v A few million years later oil is formed v It is then split at high temperature into different fuels once extracted from the ground There are millions of organic chemicals, but they can be divided into groups called homologous series, all members of a homologous series when paired up will have a similar chemical pattern, for instance in the group of alkenes that we will investigate... Name Formula Melting Point (degrees Celsius) Boiling Point(degrees Celsius) Hexane C6H14 -95° 69° Octane C8H18 -57° 174° Decane C10H22 -30° 174° Dodecane C12H26 -10° 216° Hexadecane C16H34 17-19° 283° Alkenes I will be working with alkenes and they all follow this pattern -> Viscosity - Viscosity is how runny something is, if something is more viscose it is thicker, hydro-carbons (hydrogen and carbon) make oil thick, and the more hydrocarbons the thicker something it. Planning Aim I plan to investigate the how the number of hydrocarbons in oil can affect the viscosity of oil, by testing how long it takes to slide down a tile. ...read more.


I will use gloves, as the oils won't do any good to my skin if I do get any on it I will also use goggles as it won't do my eyes any good either I will also make sure all my oils are disposed of in a safe way Preliminary Trials I carried out some preliminary trials to give me a better understanding of my experiment and I will make decisions for my method based on this I have decided that 20° was not steep enough, it took far too long for the thicker oils to move and it wouldn't give me a wide set of results, so I experimented with some other angles, still using the thickest oil hexadecane and hexane, saving me time yet still giving me just as good of an idea of the range. At 60° we found that it was too steep for the thinner oils and would not give far results so we carried out some more experiments at 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 degrees and decided that 35° would also give us the best range of results. Method I will set up my equipment and make sure it is on a flat solid surface to prevent any interferences, I will then measure the angle of the tile and make sure it is 35° exactly with a protractor, I will then collect my oils and return, the oils will be kept with lids on so I don't spill anything and I will then draw the lines on the tile 1 cm parallel from each edge so it works like a race. ...read more.


Line Graph I have included the line graph in the plastic sleeve Prediction I have proved my prediction correct and have found that there is a distinct correlation between the different results, I think my results do match up to my prediction however there is a steep increase after octane and this considerably surprised me, I thought that there would be a more even increase as the number of hydrocarbons goes up. Evaluation Evaluation I carried out my experiment in the best possible way; my results were very fair and accurate My results were as accurate they could have been with the resources available. My method was of a good standard, I kept to it without making it too lenient or too strict. My method allowed me to have the freedom to carry out the experiment in a safe way but still managed to keep it strict enough so I didn't go off task or make the test unsafe or inaccurate. I think I could make my experiment more accurate by using more precise equipment, like a more accurate clock. I think my results are highly accurate which makes them reliable. I think I went wrong when I investigated the time it took to get down the tile; I could make my experiment better by getting the speed that they travelled at. My graph shows that I worked well with a good range and work in the best way possible. By ...read more.

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