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.

Learn about alkanes, saturated hydrocarbons with single bonds between carbon atoms, including their general formula, physical and chemical properties.