General Chemistry Unit 4A Assessment Score ______/28 Name _________________________

Question 1: Petroleum ______/6

Answer the following questions about petroleum and where it comes from:

1. We cant get petroleum straight from the ground. Instead, we extract _____________ from the ground
and separate it into different petroleum fractions.
a. gasoline
b. crude oil
c. bitumen
d. asphalt

2. Petroleum compounds are made up of primarily which two elements? (Select t wo answers). Use this
picture to help you.
a. nitrogen
b. carbon
c. hydrogen
d. iron

3. Which of the following describes an intermolecular (inter= between) force?

a. a shared pair of electrons
b. an attraction between an electron and a proton
c. an attractive force between molecules
d. a force between two magnets

4. A friend asks you the following question:

How would you respond to your friends question?

Finish the sentence below:

Petroleum is not a resource we can easily replace

because: ________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________
Question 2: Intermolecular Forces ______/6

The pictures above show two containers. One contains octane molecules, and the other contains methane
molecules.
ctane or methane?
a. Which molecules have stronger intermolecular forces-- o
_______________ molecules have stronger intermolecular forces.

b. Explain why the molecules you chose have stronger i ntermolecular forces.

These molecules have stronger intermolecular forces because they are

_______________.

c. What state of matter would OCTANE and M

ETHANE take at room temperature?
ould be liquid at room temperature and
____________________________ w

_______________ would be a gas at room temperature.

d. Explain why the molecule you chose would be a liquid at room temperature. Make sure you use the
words intermolecular forces in your answer.

______________________ is liquid at room temperature because the molecules are MORE

TIGHTLY PACKED/LOOSELY PACKED (circle). This means that the intermolecular force is
STRONGER/WEAKER (circle).
Question 3: Separating Petroleum Compounds _____/ 4

The picture at right shows the fractional distillation (breaking down) of

crude oil.

a. Why is this process necessary before the oil can be used?

Distillation and heating of crude oil is needed before it can be used

because _______________________________
_______________________________________.

b. The smallest molecules rise to the top of the column. Explain why this happens. Be sure to talk about
boiling points and intermolecular forces in your answer.

The smallest molecules rise to the top because they have HIGHER/LOWER (circle) boiling points. This
means that the intermolecular forces are HIGHER/LOWER which makes the bonds between the
molecules STRONGER/WEAKER.

Question 4: Polymers ______/ 6

a. How is a polymer different from a small molecule (such as

water)? The image at right is a polymer.
A polymer is different than a small molecule because it
contains _____________________________
___________________________________.

b. When we made silly putty, we added a cross-linking compound

to a polymer. Describe what happened to the polymer when we added the cross-linking compound. Use
the word viscosity (viscosity = thick, sticky) in your answer.

When we added the __________ to the silly putty, it made it more/less viscous because. ________

_______________________________________________________________________________.
 c. You need a flexible plastic material to wrap up your silly putty so that it doesnt dry out. Will your flexible
material be made from a linear polymer or a branched polymer?

My plastic bag is made of a LINEAR/BRANCHED (circle) polymer.

d. Explain why this structure will create a flexible material. Use this
drawing to help you.
A _____________________ polymer is more flexible because
________________________________
____________________________________.

Question 5: Argumentative Writing________/6

In class, we have discussed the use of simple language and scientific
language.
In this question. you will make a claim about whether you think that
simple or scientific language is best for communicating about science. You will support your claim with
evidence.

Here are samples of simple language and scientific language:

Simple Language from Thing Explainer Scientific Language from The American Petroleum Institute

Sometimes if dead things dont burn or get eaten, they go
into the ground with that power still inside them. Over a long
time, under the weight and heat of the Earth, huge numbers
of these remains can change into different kinds of rocks,
water, or air, but even as they change, they hold onto their
power. When we find these remains,we can burn them and
get all that power-- gathered from the sun over huge
stretches of time-- at once.
All of the oil and gas we use today began as microscopic
plants and animals living in the ocean millions of years ago.
As these microscopic plants and animals lived, they
absorbed energy from the sun, which was stored as carbon
molecules in their bodies. When they died, they sank to the
bottom of the sea. As they became buried ever deeper,
heat and pressure began to rise. The amount of pressure
and the degree of heat, along with the type of biomass,
determined if the material became oil or natural gas.

Claim: Circle one of the claims below, or write your own:

a. Simple language is the most effective way to communicate about science.

b. Scientific language is the most effective way to communicate about science.

Supporting Evidence and Link 1:
Give one piece of evidence that supports your claim (either from your experience or from the sample
passages above) and explain how this evidence supports your claim.
I think that _____________________________ is the best way to write about scientific topics because
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.

Real World Example:

Turn the following statement from scientific language(about polymers) to simple language:

When many molecules of a simple compound join together, the product is termed a polymer and the
process polymerization. The simple compounds whose molecules join together to form the polymers are
called monomers. The polymer is a chain of atoms, providing a backbone, to which atoms or groups of
atoms are joined.

This passage in simple language means: _________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

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