Chemistry

The clear understanding of the physical and chemical properties of hydrocarbons is important in the synthesis of new organic compounds which can be used in the production of drugs and other chemical. It is imperative to note that most of compounds used in the management of the human, veterinary and plant diseases come are organic molecules (Olah, 2003). In addition, hydrocarbons have increasingly been utilized in the production of a range of domestic and industrial products. The paper discusses how the boiling point of hydrocarbons is affected by hydrogen and intermolecular bonding. The paper closes with a challenge in the solving of the problem of fossil fuel which remains a puzzle to decipher.


Chem. Point to Ponder Quest Week-Five
Quest 1 Addition of (-CH2) group to a molecule increases the boiling point
    Methane, CH4, a gas at room temperature has a lower boiling point than methanol CH3OH which is a liquid at room temperature because of the high potential for hydrogen bonding in methanol. The hydroxyl (-OH) group gives methanol a high chance of hydrogen bonding with other molecules hence a higher boiling point.

    Addition of a methyl (CH3) group to methanol significantly affects its boiling point. Ethanol, CH3CH2OH with an extra methyl group, has a higher boiling point than methanol, CH3OH because of the increased number of carbon atoms in ethanol than in methanol. This difference in boiling points, 780C for ethanol and 640C for methanol reflects the disparity in intermolecular interactions of the two molecules (Olah, 2003). The knowledge of boiling point of organic compounds gives chemists an insight on the structural and functional properties which can be utilized for instance, in designing novel drugs for human diseases.


Quest 2 Compounds with (-OH) groups have higher boiling points than those with CO
    Organic compounds with hydroxyl (R-OH) groups are known as alcohols while those with keto (RO) are called ketons. Alcohols have higher boiling points than ketones because of the potential for hydrogen bonding. Hydroxyl groups (-OH) are more reactive and readily form bonds that require energy expenditure to break them. Therefore, compounds with hydroxyl groups have higher boiling points compared to the compounds with keto groups. The appreciation of how boiling point can be affected by hydrogen bonding is to take a comparison between ethanol, CH3CH2-OH and methoxymethane, CH3-O-CH3 with boiling points of 78.30C and -250C respectively(Olah, 2003). The boiling point of ethanol is higher than that of methoxymethane because of the extensive intermolecular hydrogen bonding in ethanol.


Quest 3 At some point in our distant or near future (depending on the source) a barrel of oil provides a wealth of different compounds through the refining process. Without oil we may find ourselves unable to make plastics, drug molecules, and lubricants for machine work.

    The knowledge of hydrocarbon chemistry continues to get clearer as chemists gain more understanding on different transformation mechanisms of the compounds. From the hydrocarbons, Chemists anticipate to generating new compounds with novel functions that will solve human problems such as pollution and disease (Olah, 2003). Already, the science of analog chemistry is being used to make a number of drugs used in healthcare. However, the overdependence on oil to produce products such as lubricants for automobile, medicines and plastics in homes and industries calls for trouble. As fossil deposits get exhausted, anytime from now, these essential products are going to lack. It is therefore a challenge to organic chemists to synthesize these products exclusively in the laboratory through chemical reactions that do not rely on oil.