Alkenes, alcohols, carboxylic acids and polymers: GCSE Chemistry
Triple organic: alkenes, alcohols, carboxylic acids, esters, addition and condensation polymers
The short version
Alkenes add bromine and polymerise; alcohols oxidise to carboxylic acids; esters smell fruity; condensation polymers include polyesters and polyamides.
Key idea
Hydrogen, steam, halogens (and hydrogen halides) are the spec reagents
Grade 2–3: The double bond opens and extra bits stick on. With bromine the orange colour vanishes.
Grade 5–6: I can name hydrogenation, steam → ethanol, and halogen addition.
Grade 9: I write balanced addition equations and I know the product is saturated. This is Triple extra - Combined only needed the bromine colour change.
Go a bit deeper
Methanol, ethanol, propanol - learn names and formulae
Grade 2–3: Alcohols have an OH bit. Ethanol is in drinks and can be a fuel.
Grade 5–6: I can write CnH2n+1OH and the first three names.
Grade 9: I never call ethanol a hydrocarbon, and I can link industrial ethanol to steam + ethene.
Worked example
Worked example
Grade 2–3: The double bond opens and extra bits stick on. With bromine the orange colour vanishes. Grade 5–6: I can name hydrogenation, steam → ethanol, and halogen addition. Grade 9: I write balanced addition equations and I know the product is saturated. This is Triple extra - Combined only needed the bromine colour change.
Lessons in this topic
- Alkenes extra
- Alcohols
- Reactions of alcohols
- Carboxylic acids and esters
- Addition polymers extra
- Condensation polymers
In the app each lesson is video (when we have a real YouTube id) then intro, learn and summary steps.
What the examiner wants
Predict addition products, test with bromine water, recall fermentation vs hydration, and distinguish addition vs condensation polymerisation.
Try these questions
Cover the answers and have a go first. Worked solutions are underneath.
The functional group in an alkene is
Bromine water with an alkene goes
Ethene + steam (catalyst) produces
Fermentation of glucose with yeast is
Common mistakes
- Do not dump Combined-only depth. Orange to colourless is the test; Triple also wants hydrogen, steam and halogen addition equations.
- Alcohols are not hydrocarbons. CnH2n+1OH is not the alkene formula CnH2n. Do not mix methanol with methanoic acid.
- Orange to green is dichromate, not bromine water (that is orange to colourless for alkenes). Mixing those two colour changes is a classic dump.
- Carboxylic acids are weak, not weak because they are dilute. A dilute strong acid is still strong. Esters are not the same as addition polymers.
Answers and working
Frequently asked questions
Is GCSE Alkenes, alcohols, carboxylic acids and polymers on Combined Science and Triple?
Alkenes, alcohols, carboxylic acids and polymers is Triple-only Chemistry. Combined Science students can skip it.
Which exam board is this Alkenes, alcohols, carboxylic acids and polymers page for?
The ideas are board-agnostic for AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC and CCEA. Paper lengths and question numbers differ — check your specification.
Is Alkenes, alcohols, carboxylic acids and polymers Foundation or Higher?
The core ideas appear on both tiers. Higher papers add extra application and some HT-only detail, marked in lessons with a Higher badge.
Learn, try, get feedback, fix the mistake
Open the stepped lesson, then the quiz with hints. Required-practical and calculation questions use the same method you will need in the paper.
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