Alkanes Calculation Challenge

Question:

How many carbon atoms would an alkane have if it had 30 hydrogen atoms?

a. 15 atoms

b. 62 atoms

c. 14 atoms

d. 28 atoms

Answer:

The alkane with 30 hydrogen atoms would have 14 carbon atoms.

Alkanes are homologous saturated hydrocarbons with the formula CnH(2n+2). They are saturated hydrocarbons because they lack double or triple bonds between carbon atoms and each carbon has a maximum of 4 bonds.

Therefore, for an alkane with 30 hydrogen atoms: 2n + 2 = 30, 2n = 28, n = 14. Thus, it would have 14 carbon atoms, hence the correct answer is "c. 14 atoms".

The term "Alkane" refers to an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon consisting of a chain of carbon atoms each with a single bond to the next and all available bonds are occupied with hydrogen atoms.

Examples include methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), and propane (C3H8). The general formula states that for N carbon atoms, there are 2N+2 hydrogen atoms.

By setting up the equation 2N + 2 = 30 and solving for N, we get N = 14. Therefore, the alkane would have 14 carbon atoms.