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Home › GCSE/IGCSE Notes › IGCSE Chemistry › Alkanes

Simple explanation of Alkanes

Alkane is the general term for all the chains of carbon that have only single bonds.

Topics covered on this page (Alkanes):
Structure of Alkanes

Structure of Alkanes

Alkanes are a homologous series (series of organic compounds that have the same general formula) of compounds have the general formula: CnH2n+2. 
Here are the molecular formulae and names of the first five alkanes in the series:
  • Methane - CH4
  • Ethane - C2H6
  • Propane - C3H8
  • Butane - C4H10
  • Pentane - C5H12
The chemical structures of some of these alkanes (Hover over the images for the names):
Methane
Methane
Ethane
Ethane
Propane
Propane
Butane
Butane
Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons. This means that their carbon atoms are joined to each other by single bonds. This makes them relatively unreactive, apart from their reaction with oxygen in the air, which is called combustion, or burning.

Related Study Revision Notes

Organic Chemistry Terms
Alkenes
Ethanol
‹ IGCSE Chemistry Topics
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