Chemistry · Chapter 20

Alkane Builder

Set a chain length, then hang branches on it. The drawing, the formula and the full IUPAC name update with every click. Watch the teal highlight: the longest chain is not always the one you drew.

Your molecule teal = the chain the name is built on

The alkane you built

Each corner and each loose end is a carbon atom. Hydrogens are left out of the drawing, because every carbon simply fills its four bonds with them. Gold numbers run along the chain the name counts from.

The name

butane
Longest chain: 4 carbons Your drawn backbone is also the longest chain.
Molecular formula
C4H10
Molar mass (g/mol)
58.12
Carbon atoms
4
Isomers of this formula
2

Condensed formula: CH3CH2CH2CH3

Build it

Pick a carbon on your backbone
Attach a branch to carbon 1
20 carbon limit

Try these