Alkanes

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Hydrocarbon Noun

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[hy-dro-kar-bun]

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Hydrocarbon

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An organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon atoms, forming the fundamental basis of many organic molecules.

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Alkane Noun

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[al-kayn]

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Alkane

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A type of saturated hydrocarbon that contains only single covalent bonds between its carbon atoms in the molecular structure.

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Structural Formula Noun

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[struk-cher-ul for-myoo-luh]

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Structural Formula

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A chemical representation showing the specific arrangement of atoms in a molecule and the covalent bonds holding them together.

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Condensed Structural Formula Noun

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[kun-denst struk-cher-ul for-myoo-luh]

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Condensed Structural Formula

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A simplified chemical formula that groups atoms together and omits bonds to hydrogen atoms to save representational space.

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Example: This image shows the full structural formula for propane, where every atom and bond is drawn out, which is the structure that gets simplified into a condensed formula.

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Skeletal Structure Noun

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[skel-i-tl struk-cher]

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Skeletal Structure

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A molecular representation where carbon atoms are shown as vertices and line ends, and attached hydrogen atoms are omitted.

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Example: This image shows how a complex molecule like cyclohexane is simplified into its skeletal structure by removing the hydrogen atoms and showing only the carbon backbone.

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Straight-Chain Alkane Noun

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[strayt-cheyn al-kayn]

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Straight-Chain Alkane

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An alkane in which all the carbon atoms are connected in a single, continuous, and unbranched line or chain.

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Example: This image shows a series of straight-chain alkanes, where carbon atoms are linked in a continuous line with hydrogen atoms attached.

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Homologous Series Noun

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[ho-mol-uh-gus seer-eez]

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Homologous Series

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A series of compounds with the same general formula where each successive member differs by a single repeating unit.

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Example: This chart shows a homologous series of alkanes. Each molecule in the series, like ethane (C2H6), has one more carbon and two more hydrogen atoms than the one before it (methane, CH4).

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General Formula Noun

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[jen-er-ul for-myoo-luh]

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General Formula

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An algebraic formula, such as CnH2n+2 for alkanes, that describes any member of a family of related compounds.

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Branched-Chain Alkane Noun

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[brancht-cheyn al-kayn]

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Branched-Chain Alkane

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An alkane that has one or more alkyl groups attached as side branches to a central carbon parent chain.

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Isomers Noun

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[eye-so-merz]

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Isomers

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Molecules that possess the same molecular formula but have a different structural arrangement of atoms, resulting in different properties.