Hydrocarbons

Article of Hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbons Hydrocarbons are the simplest organic compounds . Containing only carbon and hydrogen, they can be straight- chain, branched chain, or cyclic molecules. Carbon tends to form four bonds in a tetrahedral geometry.Hydrocarbon derivatives are formed when there is a substitution of afunctional group at one or more of these positions.

Derivatives of Hydrocarbons An almost unlimited number of carbon compounds can be formed by the addition of afunctional group to a hydrocarbon.

Functional Groups A functional group is a reactive portion of a molecule. The combinations of functional groups with hydrocarbons produce a vast number of compounds. Particular types of reactions are associated with the functional groups with different structural attachments, giving rise to names associated with such compounds. There are names associated with the functional groups themselves - a good collection of such groups with their names can be found in Wikipedia. A few examples are given below. Organic molecules containing a hydroxyl group are known as alcohols. Hydroxyl wiki. Note that the carbonyl group is the functional group involved with several of the hydrocarbon derivatives shown above. Carbonyl wiki. The carboxyl group is present in amino acids andcarboxylic acids. Note that it is a hydroxyl group bonded to a carbonyl group. Carboxyl wiki.