The simplest alkane is methane (CH4), a colorless, odorless gas that is the component of natural gas. In larger alkanes whose carbon atoms are joined in an unbranched chain (straight-chain alkanes), each carbon atom is bonded to at most two other carbon atoms. The structures of two simple alkanes are shown in the Figure below, and the names and condensed structural formulas for the first 10 straight-chain alkanes are in the Table below. The names of all alkanes end in -ane, and their boiling points increase as the number of carbon atoms increases. Figure: Straight-Chain Alkanes with Two and Three Carbon Atoms Number Condensed Boiling of Molecular Structural Point Uses Name Carbon Formula Formula (°C) Atoms natural gas methane 1 CH4 CH4 −162 constituent natural gas ethane 2 C2H6 CH3CH3 −89 constituent propane 3 C3H8 CH3CH2CH3 bottled gas −42 CH3CH2CH2CH3 lighters, butane 4 C4H10 or 0 bottled gas CH3(CH2)2CH3 solvent, pentane 5 CH3(CH2)3CH3 36 gasoline solvent, hexane 6 C6H14 CH3(CH2)4CH3 69 gasoline solvent, heptane 7 C7H16 CH3(CH2)5CH3 98 gasoline
The simplest alkane is methane (CH4), a colorless, odorless gas that is the component of natural gas. In larger alkanes whose carbon atoms are joined in an unbranched chain (straight-chain alkanes), each carbon atom is bonded to at most two other carbon atoms. The structures of two simple alkanes are shown in the Figure below, and the names and condensed structural formulas for the first 10 straight-chain alkanes are in the Table below. The names of all alkanes end in -ane, and their boiling points increase as the number of carbon atoms increases. Figure: Straight-Chain Alkanes with Two and Three Carbon Atoms Name Number of Carbon Atoms Molecular Formula Condensed Structural Formula Boiling Point (°C) Uses methane 1 CH4 CH4 −162 natural gas constituent ethane 2 C2H6 CH3CH3 −89 natural gas constituent propane 3 C3H8 CH3CH2CH3 −42 bottled gas butane 4 C4H10 CH3CH2CH2CH3 or CH3(CH2)2CH3 0 lighters, bottled gas pentane 5 CH3(CH2)3CH3 36 solvent, gasoline hexane 6 C6H14 CH3(CH2)4CH3 69 solvent, gasoline heptane 7 C7H16 CH3(CH2)5CH3 98 solvent, gasoline
chapter_2_text.docx