Reactions of Alkenes
Use this landing page to move quickly between the main alkene reaction revision pages for Edexcel A Level Chemistry Topic 6C. These pages cover addition reactions with halogens, hydrogen halides, bromine water, hydrogen and steam, together with oxidation using KMnO₄.
Choose a Reactions of Alkenes Page
Alkenes react because the carbon-carbon double bond contains an electron-rich pi bond. These pages separate the key addition reactions and chemical tests so students can revise reagents, conditions, products and observations clearly.
Key idea: Most alkene reactions are addition reactions. The pi bond breaks, two new sigma bonds form and the atoms from the reagent add across the C=C double bond.
Halogens
Revise the addition reactions of alkenes with halogens, including how the C=C bond reacts with Br₂ and Cl₂.
Hydrogen Halide
Learn how hydrogen halides add across the C=C bond and how major products can form with unsymmetrical alkenes.
Bromine Water
Review the bromine water test for unsaturation, including the colour change from orange to colourless.
Hydrogen
Revise hydrogenation of alkenes, including conversion to alkanes using a nickel catalyst.
Steam
Learn how steam adds to alkenes in hydration reactions to produce alcohols under suitable conditions.
KMnO₄
Review oxidation of alkenes with potassium manganate(VII) and how this can be used as a chemical test.
How to Use These Pages
Start with halogen and hydrogen halide addition to secure the core electrophilic addition pattern. Then revise bromine water as the test for unsaturation, followed by hydrogenation, hydration with steam and oxidation using KMnO₄.
Exam focus: Be able to state reagents and conditions, predict products from alkene addition reactions, describe the bromine water colour change and recognise when KMnO₄ is being used to test or oxidise an alkene.
Master Alkenes for Edexcel A Level Chemistry
Continue from these free revision notes into the full Topic 6C Alkenes course, with guided video teaching, diagnostic MCQ practice, teacher-marked short-answer questions and a specification assignment with a personalised progress report.
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Some ionic radii are shown.
| Ion | Ionic radius / nm |
|---|---|
| Na+ | 0.102 |
| K+ | 0.138 |
| F− | 0.133 |
| Cl− | 0.180 |
Which compound has the strongest ionic bonding?
Explain why the metallic bonding in magnesium is much stronger than that in sodium.
Copyright notice: This revision page, including its written explanations, layout and teaching sequence, is produced for Online Learning System by Dr. Mohammed Al-Fatah. It is intended for student revision and may not be copied, redistributed or republished without permission.