Alkanes in Organic Chemistry

Alkanes

• Definition: Saturated hydrocarbons with only single bonds between carbon atoms.
• General Formula: CnH2n+2
• Physical Properties:
  • Non-polar and non-reactive
  • Insoluble in water, soluble in organic solvents
  • Boiling points increase with molecular weight
  • Melting points increase with branching
• Chemical Properties:
  • Undergo combustion reactions with oxygen
  • Can undergo substitution reactions with halogens
  • Can undergo oxidation reactions with oxygen or other oxidizing agents
• Naming:
  • Use the IUPAC system
  • Parent chain is the longest continuous chain
  • Substituents are named as prefixes
  • Alkane suffix is -ane

Alkenes

• Definition: Unsaturated hydrocarbons with at least one carbon-carbon double bond.
• General Formula: CnH2n
• Physical Properties:
  • Polar and slightly reactive
  • Insoluble in water, soluble in organic solvents
  • Boiling points are lower than corresponding alkanes
  • Melting points are generally lower than alkanes
• Chemical Properties:
  • Undergo addition reactions with hydrogen, halogens, and other reagents
  • Can undergo electrophilic addition reactions
  • Can undergo oxidation reactions with oxygen or other oxidizing agents
• Naming:
  • Use the IUPAC system
  • Parent chain is the longest continuous chain containing the double bond
  • Substituents are named as prefixes
  • Alkene suffix is -ene
  • Numbering starts from the end of the parent chain closest to the double bond

Alkanes

• Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons with only single bonds between carbon atoms.
• The general formula for alkanes is CnH2n+2.
• Alkanes are non-polar and non-reactive, making them insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents.
• The boiling points of alkanes increase with molecular weight.
• The melting points of alkanes increase with branching.
• Alkanes undergo combustion reactions with oxygen.
• Alkanes can undergo substitution reactions with halogens.
• Alkanes can undergo oxidation reactions with oxygen or other oxidizing agents.
• Alkane names are determined using the IUPAC system.
• The parent chain in an alkane is the longest continuous chain.
• Substituents in an alkane are named as prefixes.
• The suffix for an alkane is -ane.

Alkenes

• Alkenes are unsaturated hydrocarbons with at least one carbon-carbon double bond.
• The general formula for alkenes is CnH2n.
• Alkenes are polar and slightly reactive, making them insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents.
• The boiling points of alkenes are lower than those of corresponding alkanes.
• The melting points of alkenes are generally lower than those of alkanes.
• Alkenes undergo addition reactions with hydrogen, halogens, and other reagents.
• Alkenes can undergo electrophilic addition reactions.
• Alkenes can undergo oxidation reactions with oxygen or other oxidizing agents.
• Alkene names are determined using the IUPAC system.
• The parent chain in an alkene is the longest continuous chain containing the double bond.
• Substituents in an alkene are named as prefixes.
• The suffix for an alkene is -ene.
• Numbering in an alkene starts from the end of the parent chain closest to the double bond.