A saturated hydrocarbon is a hydrocarbon in which all carbon atoms are bonded to the maximum number of hydrogen atoms. This means that the carbon atoms are bonded with only single bonds. Saturated hydrocarbons are also known as alkanes. They are called saturated because all of the carbon-to-carbon bonds and carbon-to-hydrogen bonds are fully "saturated" with hydrogen atoms, and there are no double or triple bonds present. Saturated hydrocarbons are usually unreactive and can be found in natural gas, crude oil, and other petroleum products. Examples of saturated hydrocarbons include methane (CH4), propane (C3H8), and hexane (C6H14).
A saturated hydrocarbon is a type of organic compound that consists solely of carbon and hydrogen atoms, bonded together by single covalent bonds. These hydrocarbons contain the maximum number of hydrogen atoms possible and have no double or triple bonds between carbon atoms. This results in a structure that is fully saturated with hydrogen atoms. The simplest example of a saturated hydrocarbon is methane (CH4), which has one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms. Other examples include ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), and butane (C4H10), among many others. Saturated hydrocarbons are commonly found in fossil fuels, such as natural gas and petroleum.
