Given an alkane, an alkene, and an alkyne, each of which contains two carbon atoms, which compound will contain the greatest number of hydrogen atoms?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Alkanes have the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms for a given number of carbons in their structure. The formula for calculating the maximum number of hydrogen atoms in an alkane is 2n + 2, where n is the number of carbon atoms. Therefore, in the case of two carbon atoms, the maximum number of hydrogen atoms would be 2(2) + 2 = 6. Alkenes and alkynes have two fewer hydrogen atoms than the corresponding alkane because they contain a double or triple bond, which replaces two or three hydrogen atoms, respectively. Therefore, the alkane, with six hydrogen atoms, will contain the greatest number of hydrogen atoms among the given compounds.

Given an Alkane, an Alkene, and an Alkyne, Each of Which