Question

What are saturated hydrocarbons.? Give one example.

Answer 1

Organic compounds consisting of only carbon and hydrogen are called hydrocarbons.

There are two main categories of hydrocarbons: Saturated, Unsaturated hydrocarbons.

The carbon compounds having a single covalent bond between two carbon atoms are called saturated hydrocarbons.

In saturated hydrocarbons, carbon atoms are linked together by a single $\mathrm{C}-\mathrm{C}$ bond and $\mathrm{C}-\mathrm{H}$ covalent bond.

The general formula of saturated hydrocarbons is ${\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{n}}{\mathrm{H}}_{2\mathrm{n}+2}$.

Example: Methane (${\mathrm{CH}}_4$), Ethane (${\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{H}}_6$).