Naming and Drawing Alkanes and Alkenes Flashcards

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Note: We may include questions that have multiple correct answers. It's useful to remember specific examples to understand these concepts better.

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What is meant by an alkane?

An alkane is a hydrocarbon in which all the bonds between carbon atoms are single bonds.

What is meant by an alkene?

An alkene is a hydrocarbon that has at least one double bond between two carbon atoms.

How do the endings of the names show if a hydrocarbon is an alkane or an alkene?

Alkanes have names that end in -ane, while alkenes have names that end in -ene.

What are the names of the first four alkanes?

The first four alkanes are methane, ethane, propane and butane.

What are the names of the first four alkenes in order of chain length?

The first four alkenes are ethene, propene, butene and pentene.

Why is there no alkene called methene?

There is no methene because an alkene needs at least two carbon atoms to make a carbon-carbon double bond.

What is the general formula for alkanes?

The general formula for alkanes is CnH2n+2, where n is the number of carbon atoms.

What is the general formula for alkenes with one double bond?

The general formula for alkenes is CnH2n, where n is the number of carbon atoms.

Propane is an alkane with 3 carbon atoms. Using the general formula, what is its molecular formula?

For n = 3, 2 x 3 + 2 = 8, so propane has the formula C3H8.

What is meant by the displayed formula of a molecule?

The displayed formula shows all the atoms in a molecule and all the bonds between them, using lines to represent bonds.

How would you draw the displayed formula of ethene?

Draw two carbon atoms joined by a double line. Add hydrogen atoms with single lines so each carbon has four bonds in total.