Combustion Of Alcohols

Combustion Of Alcohols
Planning
This investigation involves burning alcohol in the air. Key science- Chemistry by Eileen Ramsden says that " an alcohol is a series of organic, homologous compounds, with the general formula Cn H2n+1OH". The alcohol reacts with the oxygen in the air to form the products water and carbon dioxide:
Cn H2n+1OH +(n+n/2)-1O2 ? nH2O + nCO2
The structure of the molecules in this reaction is:
H H | | H - C - C - O- H + 3[O=O] ? 1/2[O=C=O] + 3[H-O-H] | | H H
This reaction is exothermic, as heat is given out. This is because the amount reactant energy is more than the…