Hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbons are compounds that consist of only carbon and hydrogen atoms. Hydrocarbons that are bonded together with only single bonds are alkanes. The simplest example is methane (shown below). When hydrocarbons have one or more double bonds, they are called alkenes. The simplest alkene is Ethane (C₂H₄) which contains a double bond between the two carbon atoms.

Ex. Methane on left, Ethane on right