What does saturated mean in chemistry alkanes?

An alkane is any hydrocarbon that consists entirely of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Alkanes take their name from the first hydrocarbon discovered, named by Swedish chemist A. K. von Kebner in 1833: ethanol, which is also known as ethane.

What does saturated mean in chemistry organic compounds?

The prefix “ saturated (or “saturate”) refers to the number of bonds between the atoms in a hydrocarbon. All hydrocarbons have the same number of atoms and the same number of bonds between them, so there is no fractional saturation. Thus, to describe a hydrocarbon as “saturated” is redundant, since the only possible number of bonds is the number of atoms.

What is the meaning of saturated in chemistry?

The degree of unsaturation in an unsaturated hydrocarbon is the number of carbon-carbon double bonds in it. A saturated hydrocarbon has no double bonds. A “saturated” carbon atom can have four bonds, as in methane; it can also have three, two, or even one bond. There is no upper limit on the number of bonds a carbon can have.

What is saturated mean in terms of chemistry?

In the context of hydrocarbons, “saturated” refers to the structure of the carbon-carbon bonds. The carbon atoms in an alkane are bound to four other carbon atoms in tetrahedral structures. These tetrahedral bonds are perfectly saturated, in other words, they have four pairs of single bonds. An alkane is thus called “saturated” because all of its carbon-carbon bonds are single bonds. This means that the structure of an alkane does

What is saturated mean in chemistry?

An alkane is any hydrocarbon containing only single bonds. Unlike an unsaturated hydrocarbon, which has one or more double bonds, a saturated hydrocarbon has no double bonds. Saturated hydrocarbons are the most common type of organic molecule, and they are present in petroleum and natural gas.