Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => High School Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: icemann on December 14, 2010, 12:05:18 PM
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Question states that I am given two bottles of organic liquids. I am to describe the physical or chemical tests that could be conducted in order to determine whether the two substances are unsaturated or saturated.
I know of the bromine test which I think is a chemical test. Saturated compounds don't really react according to my text so the Bromine would not fade away in the saturated compound. I found this by researching though, my text mentioned iodine, would an iodine test be similar to a bromine test?
Are there any other physical or chemical tests that could be used? My text describes combustion reactions for both alkanes and unsaturated hyrdocarbons but I don't see how I could test the difference this way.
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The decolourisation of bromine (and presumably iodine) by their addition across a C=C (or C-triple-C) is a classic test for the presence of one or more C=C bonds in an unsaturated compound. The colour change is dramatic so the test is simple.
As you know two significant groups of hydrocarbon are alkanes and alkenes. How about looking for reactions of each type of compound with different chemicals: burning in oxygen, reaction with acids, reaction with alcohols etc and their physical properties such as boiling point? See if there is a particular reaction which produces significantly different results between the two groups and similar results within a group i.e. all alkanes react similarly to each other but react differently to alkenes.