temporary withdrawal or cessation from the usual work or activity. 2. a period of such withdrawal. 3. a receding part or space, as a bay or alcove in a room. 4. an indentation in a line or extent of coast, hills, forest, etc.
The most simple alkane is methane with the formula CH4. The second alkane is ethane with the formula C2H6. The general formula of alkanes is CnH2n+2. The first four alkanes are methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10). The simplest alkane is the gas methane, whose molecular formula is CH4. Methane exists as a tetrahedral shape, but it is often represented by a flattened structure as are most organic compounds. Flattened structures for the three simplest alkanes are given in the Figure below.
The bonds that form the methane molecule are covalent bonds with a tetrahedral geometry. Methane is encountered on earth in the form of natural gas or the product of decomposition, and this compound is encountered on other planets within and beyond our solar system.