Chemistry / Unit 12 Chem 2432 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Alkanes: Saturated Hydrocarbons
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The idea
An alkane is a saturated hydrocarbon containing only single carbon-carbon bonds, each carbon sp3 hybridized, giving the general formula CnH2n+2 for any noncyclic chain length.
In practice
Propane, C3H8, fits the pattern exactly: three carbons give 2(3)+2 = 8 hydrogens.
Where people slip
"Saturated" describes bonding, not physical state — saturated hydrocarbons include gases, liquids, and solids depending on chain length.
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