enumerate the 100 alkanes and its molecular formula

You must be kidding? First, there are many more than 100 alkanes and second, surely you don't expect us to write all of them down for you.

The general formula for alkanes is

CnH(2n+2)

n=1 methane (CH4)
n=2 ethane (C2H6)

and so on to C100H202 or hectane

I don't understand what is meant by "enumerate the 100 alkanes"

To enumerate the 100 alkanes and their molecular formulas, we need to understand that alkanes are hydrocarbons with only single bonds between carbon atoms. The general formula for an alkane is CnH2n+2, where "n" represents the number of carbon atoms.

To begin, let's start with the smallest alkane, methane (CH4), which has one carbon atom. We can then continue by adding additional carbon atoms one by one and following the pattern of the general formula.

1. Methane - CH4
2. Ethane - C2H6
3. Propane - C3H8
4. Butane - C4H10
5. Pentane - C5H12
6. Hexane - C6H14
7. Heptane - C7H16
8. Octane - C8H18
9. Nonane - C9H20
10. Decane - C10H22

Continuing this pattern, we can generate a list of 100 alkanes by incrementing the number of carbon atoms and applying the general formula. However, listing all 100 alkanes manually would be impractical.

Alternatively, we can use a formula to calculate the molecular formula for a given alkane. Since the molecular formula follows the pattern CnH2n+2, we can use this formula to determine the molecular formula for any alkane.

Here's an example using the formula:

Let's say we want to find the molecular formula for the 50th alkane. Using the formula CnH2n+2, we substitute "n" with 50:

C50H2(50)+2 = C50H102

By applying this formula to any desired number, we can calculate the molecular formula for that specific alkane.

Remember that enumerating all 100 alkanes manually might be time-consuming. However, understanding the general formula and its pattern allows you to easily determine the molecular formula for any given alkane.