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alkane

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

alkane , any of a group of aliphatic hydrocarbons whose molecules contain only single bonds (see chemical bond ). Alkanes have the general chemical formula C n H 2n+2 . An alkane is said to have a continuous chain if each carbon atom in its molecule is joined to at most two other carbon atoms; it is said to have a branched chain if any of its carbon atoms is joined to more than two other carbon atoms. The first four continuous-chain alkanes are methane , CH 4 ; ethane , C 2 H 6 ; propane , C 3 H 8 ; and butane , C 4 H 10 . Names of continuous-chain alkanes whose molecules contain more than five carbon atoms are formed from a root that indicates the number of carbon atoms and the suffix - ane to indicate that the compound is an alkane; e.g., alkanes with 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 carbon atoms in their molecules are pentane, hexane, heptane, octane, nonane, and decane, respectively. The name of a branched-chain alkane is formed by adding prefixes to the name of the continuous-chain alkane from which it is considered to be derived; e.g., 2-methylpropane (called also isobutane) is thought of as being derived by replacing one of the hydrogen atoms bonded to the second (2-) carbon atom of a propane molecule with a methyl (CH 3 ) group, forming CH 3 CH(CH 3 ) 2 . Chemically, the alkanes are relatively unreactive. They are obtained by fractional distillation from petroleum and are used extensively as fuels. The alkanes are sometimes referred to as the methane series (after the simplest alkane) or as paraffins.

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The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press

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Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

alkane
...2)). The simplest is methane (CH4). Alkanes with more than three carbon atoms may...atoms per molecule than the corresponding alkane; many have more than one ring. Commercial...solvent s, and raw materials. paraffin . alkane alkane alkane Read more
alkane
alkane Hydrocarbon compound with the general formula C n H 2n+2 . Alkanes have a single carbon-carbon bond and form an homologous...members are methane , ethane , propane and butane . Because alkanes are saturated compounds they are relatively unreactive... Read more
alkane
al·kane / ˈalˌkān / • n. Chem. any of the series of saturated hydrocarbons having the general formula C n H 2n+2 , including methane, ethane, and propane. Read more
alkyl group
...carbon and hydrogen atoms derived from an alkane molecule by removing one hydrogen atom...group is derived from the name of its alkane by replacing the - ane suffix with - yl...alkyl groups can be formed from the same alkane by removing different hydrogen atoms... Read more
cyclopropane
cyclopropane C 3 H 6 , a gaseous hydrocarbon. It is a cyclic alkane, its three carbon atoms being joined together in a ring. The...between successive carbon-carbon bonds in a normal open-chain alkane; the cyclopropane molecule is thus said to be "strained." Many... Read more

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