Question

Alkanes are soluble in ________.

Answer 1

• Alkanes: Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons, containing only single covalent bonds between carbon atoms.
• All alkanes are composed of carbon and hydrogen atoms and have similar bonds, structures, and formulas; all non-cyclic alkanes have a formula of ${\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{n}}{\mathrm{H}}_{2\mathrm{n}+2}$.
• “Like dissolves like” means non-polar compounds are soluble in non-polar solvents like carbon tetrachloride $\left({\mathrm{CCl}}_4\right)$, chloroform $\left({\mathrm{CHCl}}_3\right)$, benzene $\left({\mathrm{C}}_6{\mathrm{H}}_6\right)$, etc; and polar compounds are soluble in polar solvents like water $\left({\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\right)$, acetonitrile $\left({\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{CN}\right)$, methanol $\left({\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{OH}\right)$, etc.

Hence, alkanes are soluble in non-polar solvents.