Combustion of Alkenes Flashcards

All 4 cards in this deck

What are the products of the complete combustion of an alkene?

Carbon dioxide and water

Why do alkenes tend to burn in air with smoky flames?

Because incomplete combustion occurs, producing carbon (soot).

True or false? Alkenes burn in air with a cleaner, less smoky flame than alkanes.

False. Alkenes tend to burn with smokier flames because of incomplete combustion.

What are the steps to write a balanced equation for the complete combustion of an alkene?

e.g. ethene, $C_2H_4$

1. Write the products as $CO_2$ and $H_2O$: $C_2H_4 \rightarrow CO_2 + H_2O$

2. Balance carbon, then hydrogen: $\rightarrow 2CO_2 + 2H_2O$

3. Balance oxygen using $O_2$: $C_2H_4 + 3O_2 \rightarrow 2CO_2 + 2H_2O$