The document discusses the chemistry of petroleum and gasoline. Petroleum is composed of hydrocarbon molecules with varying numbers of carbon atoms. Crude oil is extracted from wells as a mixture of hydrocarbons and refined into fuels like gasoline through fractional distillation and chemical processing. Gasoline is made up of hydrocarbon molecules with between 5-12 carbon atoms and must have an octane rating sufficient to prevent engine knocking in automobiles. Tetraethyl lead was formerly added to gasoline but was phased out due to environmental and health effects.