🛢️Alkane vs Alkene🔥
Alkanes and alkenes are both hydrocarbons but differ in saturation. That single double bond changes their reactivity completely.
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🛢️Alkane
- ✓Only single carbon-carbon bonds (saturated)
- ✓General formula CnH2n+2
- ✓Relatively unreactive, undergoes substitution
- ✓Burns cleanly as fuel
- ✓Examples: methane, ethane, propane
🔥Alkene
- ✓Contains at least one C=C double bond (unsaturated)
- ✓General formula CnH2n
- ✓Reactive, undergoes addition reactions
- ✓Decolorizes bromine water
- ✓Examples: ethene, propene, butene
Verdict
Alkanes are saturated and sluggish; alkenes are unsaturated and far more reactive thanks to the double bond. The bromine water test tells them apart instantly.
Frequently asked
How can I tell an alkane from an alkene?+
Add bromine water: an alkene decolorizes it quickly while an alkane does not.
Why are alkenes more reactive?+
The C=C double bond has an exposed pi electron cloud that readily attacks reagents.
What reaction do alkenes undergo?+
Addition reactions, where atoms add across the double bond and convert it to a single bond.
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