Molecule consisting solely of a combination of hydrogen and carbon atoms.
Hydrocarbons vary in terms of the number of carbons involved (at least one), the number of carbon atoms bonded to each carbon (none, one, two, or three), and the types of bonds found between the individual carbon atoms (single, double, or triple). In addition, hydrocarbons can be modified with functional groups, essentially, combinations of atoms other than carbon or hydrogen, that greatly increase the diversity of organic molecules as well as the complexity of their chemistry.
For more on this topic, see Wikipedia and Google. Contact web master. Return to home.
