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What are alcohols?
Member rating: No Rating | Words: | Submitted: Mon Jan 26 2004
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What are alcohols? Alcohols are a specific group of substances that are hydroxyl derivatives of hydrocarbons but more explicitly they are types of fuel. A fuel is a substance (e.g. methane) that readily undergoes combustion (the combustion of a substance involves its reaction with oxygen and the release of energy) and gives out large amounts of energy. The combustion of fuels is usually an exothermic reaction. The distinction between alcohols and other fuels, such as methane, is that alcohols are a homologous series of compounds that contain the -OH group of atoms as the functional group. The functional group in a molecule is the group of atoms within the structure that determines the characteristic reactions of that substance. All the earlier, smaller alcohols have a neutral pH, and are colourless liquids that do not conduct electricity. The general chemical structure of an alcohol is as follows: CnH(2n+1)OH By far the most...
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