GCSE Chemistry — Fuels and Earth Science

Led by James Lovelock

Module 11 of Edexcel GCSE Chemistry. Led by James Lovelock, originator of the Gaia hypothesis and the scientist whose CFC detection triggered the Montreal Protocol. The student covers crude oil and the six fractions, complete and incomplete combustion, atmospheric pollutants and acid rain, hydrogen as alternative fuel, cracking, the four-billion-year history of the Earth's atmosphere, and human-caused climate change.

1. Module 11

   Fuels and Earth Science

   Led by James Lovelock

   The question

   What is a hydrocarbon, how is crude oil separated into the fractions that power modern transport and industry, what pollutants are produced when these fractions are burned, and how does the resulting accumulation of greenhouse gases affect a planetary atmosphere whose composition was itself the product of four billion years of geological and biological chemistry? The spec asks the student to define hydrocarbons, describe fractional distillation, recall the six fractions and their uses, write complete and incomplete combustion equations, explain CO/SO₂/NOₓ pollution, evaluate hydrogen as a fuel, define cracking, describe the Earth's atmospheric history, perform the oxygen test, explain the greenhouse effect, and evaluate climate-change evidence and mitigation.

   Outcome

   the student can describe hydrocarbons, fractional distillation, the six fractions and their uses, complete and incomplete combustion, atmospheric pollutants, hydrogen evaluation, cracking, the Earth's atmospheric history, the oxygen test, the greenhouse effect, and climate-change evidence and mitigation. *(Edexcel 1CH0 Paper 2 — Topic 8, spec points 8.1–8.26)*

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 11.1 Crude oil, fractional distillation, and the six fractions Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 11.2 Complete and incomplete combustion; CO and soot Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   3. ○ 11.3 Sulfur dioxide, acid rain, and NOₓ pollution Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   4. ○ 11.4 Hydrogen vs petrol; cracking and the bridge to organic chemistry Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   5. ○ 11.5 The Earth's early atmosphere and its evolution Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   6. ○ 11.6 The greenhouse effect and climate-change evidence Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   7. ○ 11.7 Today's atmosphere and mitigation options Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Begin the course → Print certificate of completion