Alkanes Physical properties: The chemistry of carbon compounds is called organic chemistry. There are millions of organic chemicals, but they can be divided into groups called homologous series. All members of a particular series will have similar chemical properties and can be represented by a general formula. The alkane series is the simplest homologous series. The main source of alkanes is from crude oil. Alkanes are covalent compounds. They are hydrocarbons, which means they contain …
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…and added to in a reaction. Saturated and unsaturated: Organic compounds, like alkanes, which have four single covalent bonds to all their carbon atoms are described as saturated. Alkenes are hydrocarbons with a double bond between two carbon atoms and are described as unsaturated. This is because they do not have the maximum number of atoms attached to their four bonds, as one is double! Polyunsaturated margarines and vegetable oils contain many C=C bonds