Chapter 22, Problem 6RQ

What is the difference between a saturated hydrocarbon and an unsaturated hydrocarbon?

To determine

The difference between a saturated hydrocarbon and an unsaturated hydrocarbon.

Answer to Problem 6RQ

The major difference between a saturated hydrocarbon and an unsaturated hydrocarbonis that the unsaturated hydrocarbons have multiple bonds between two carbon atoms, whereas saturated hydrocarbons have single covalent bonds.

Explanation of Solution

In saturated hydrocarbons, there is only a single bond between the carbon and hydrogen atoms. There is no multiple bond present amongst them.While in unsaturated hydrocarbons there are multiple bonds between two carbon atoms.

The structure of saturated hydrocarbon is shown below.

Fig. (1)

There is no double or triple bond present between two carbon atoms and all the bonds are single. Therefore, it is a saturated hydrocarbon.

The structure of unsaturated hydrocarbon is shown below.

Fig. (2)

There is a triple bond between two carbon atoms. Therefore, it is an unsaturated hydrocarbon.

Conclusion:

Therefore, unsaturated hydrocarbons have multiple bonds between two carbon atoms and saturated hydrocarbons do not have any multiple bonds between any two carbon atoms.