What is the chemical formula for hydrocarbon?

Answer 1

There are many different types of bonds in the Hydrocarbon family. The most common is Alkane, where Carbon atoms link only once between other Carbon atoms. The formula for an Alkane is CnH(2n+2), where n is the number of Carbon atoms. There are also Alkenes wherein one pair of Carbon atoms have a double bond, but the rest have only single bonds. This formula is CnH(2n). Another common Hydrocarbon is the Alkyne. In an Alkyne, one pair of Carbon atoms share a triple bond. For an Alkyne, the formula is CnH[n+(n-2)]. Here are some examples. Alkane: C3H8 Alkene: C3H6 Alkyne: C3H4 The suffix of the element tells us the bonds that the Carbon atoms share. -ane: single bond, -ene: double bond, -yne: triple bond. The prefix of the element tells us how many Carbon atoms bond in this way.