TED-Ed: Under the hood: The chemistry of cars - Cynthia Chubbuck

The video explores the chemistry behind car engines, focusing on the cooling system. It explains why water isn't suitable due to its freezing and boiling points, and introduces solutions with colligative properties that alter these points. The video details how solutions work, emphasizing ethylene glycol's role in engine coolants, and explains the mechanics of freezing and boiling. It concludes with the importance of creating effective engine coolants with high specific heat, low freezing points, and high boiling points.

What is the primary reason a cooling system is necessary in a car engine?

• To enhance the car's aerodynamics

• To manage the heat produced by combustion

• To reduce fuel consumption

• To increase the speed of the car

Why is water not an ideal coolant for car engines?

• It is too expensive

• It has a high freezing point and a low boiling point

• It reacts with engine components

• It evaporates too quickly

What are colligative properties?

• Properties that depend on the type of solute

• Properties that depend on the amount of solute

• Properties that depend on the temperature

• Properties that depend on the pressure

What is the typical mixture ratio of ethylene glycol and water in a car's cooling system?

• 90/10

• 30/70

• 50/50

• 70/30

What happens if too much ethylene glycol is added to the coolant mixture?

• The boiling point decreases

• The freezing point decreases further

• The solution becomes more volatile

• The freezing point starts to increase