Hydrocarbons + Alkanes

• Crude oil is a finite resource that will one day run out
• How crude oil is formed

  Remains of tiny sea creatures called plankton were buried in mud over millions of years
• Hydrocarbon


  Molecules made up of hydrogen and carbon atoms only
• Hydrocarbons found in crude oil

  • Methane
  • Ethane
• Alkanes


  Hydrocarbons that have the general formula CnH2n+2
• The key feature of alkanes is that they have the general formula CnH2n+2
• How to use the general formula for alkanes

  If we know the number of carbon atoms (n), we can calculate the number of hydrogen atoms by multiplying n by 2 and then adding 2
• Alkanes are saturated molecules because the carbon atoms are fully bonded to hydrogen atoms