Propene

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/propene

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the chemical formula?C3H6
2. What is the primary industrial sources?Steam cracking of hydrocarbons, fluid catalytic cracking, propane dehydrogenation
3. What is propene and why is it called a "speedy gas"?Propene is a colorless, flammable gas with a double bond that makes it very reactive. Its quick reactions help it become a building block for many products, which is why it's called a speedy gas.
4. How is propene made in factories?Propene is mainly produced when big hydrocarbon molecules are heated with steam in a process called steam cracking. Other methods include breaking down heavy oil in refineries or turning propane into propene with extra energy.

Alkene: An unsaturated hydrocarbon containing at least one carbon-carbon double bond.
Steam Cracking: A petrochemical process used to break down saturated hydrocarbons into smaller, more useful unsaturated hydrocarbons.
Polymerization: A chemical process where monomers react together to form a polymer chain; for propene, this yields polypropylene.