A compound consisting of four carbon atoms has a triple bond in it. How
many hydrogen atoms are present in it.
CH3Ctriple bondC-CH3 must be 6
To determine the number of hydrogen atoms present in a compound consisting of four carbon atoms with a triple bond, we need to consider the molecular formula and the concept of valency.
1. Determine the molecular formula: In this case, the compound has four carbon atoms, so the molecular formula can be written as C4.
2. Determine the total valency of carbon: The valency of carbon is 4, which means each carbon atom can form four chemical bonds.
3. Account for the triple bond: A triple bond consists of one sigma (σ) bond and two pi (π) bonds. Since the compound has a triple bond, it means there are a total of three π bonds.
4. Calculate the number of remaining available bonds: Assuming each carbon atom forms a bond in the molecule, we can subtract the bonds formed by carbon from the total valency. In this case, four carbon atoms, each forming four bonds, would account for (4 x 4) = 16 bonds. However, since there are three π bonds due to the triple bond, we subtract (3 x 2) = 6 from the total number of bonds: 16 - 6 = 10.
5. Calculate the number of hydrogen atoms: Hydrogen forms a single bond (σ bond) with carbon. Therefore, to determine the number of hydrogen atoms, we divide the remaining available bonds (from step 4) by the number of bonds per hydrogen, which is 1. In this case, 10 available bonds divided by 1 bond per hydrogen atom gives us 10 hydrogen atoms.
So, a compound consisting of four carbon atoms with a triple bond will have 10 hydrogen atoms.