A hydrocarbon is a compound which only contains carbon and hydrogen atoms as constituent elements.
An alkane is a saturated hydrocarbon. Saturated means that is has no double bonds and has the maximum number of hydrogen atoms. All bonds present in an alkane are single bonds.
General formula of alkanes: CnH₂n₊₂
If (n = 3), the compound would be:
C₃H₂₍₃₎₊₂ = C₃H₈
Every alkane’s name ends in ‘-ane’.
An alkane’s prefix always changes according the number of carbon atoms present in the compound.
Some common alkanes:
| Name of the alkane | No. of Carbon atoms | Formula |
| Methane | 1 | CH₄ |
| Ethane | 2 | C₂H₆ |
| Propane | 3 | C₃H₈ |
| Butane | 4 | C₄H₁₀ |
| Pentane | 5 | C₅H₁₂ |
| Hexane | 6 | C₆H₁₄ |
| Heptane | 7 | C₇H₁₆ |
| Octane | 8 | C₈H₁₈ |
| Nonane | 9 | C₉H₂₀ |
| Decane | 10 | C₁₀H₂₂ |
Crack BMAT 