Saturated hydrocarbon

In organic chemistry, an alkane, or paraffin (a historical trivial name that also has other meanings), is an acyclicsaturatedhydrocarbon. In other words, an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in which all the carbon–carbon bonds are single. Alkanes have the general chemical formula C_nH_2n+2 and therefore range in complexity from the simplest case of methane (CH₄), where n = 1, to arbitrarily large and complex molecules, like hexacontane (C₆₀H₁₂₂) or 4-methyl-5-(1-methylethyl) octane, an isomer of dodecane (C₁₂H₂₆).