What is the molecular formula of ethane?

Ethane is an alkane, which is a type of hydrocarbon that has only single bonds between the carbon atoms. The general formula for alkanes is CnH(2n+2), where "n" represents the number of carbon atoms in the molecule. For ethane, "n" is 2 since it has two carbon atoms.

Using the formula:

• When n = 2, the number of hydrogen atoms can be calculated as: H = 2(2) + 2 = 6.

Thus, the molecular formula for ethane is C2H6, which indicates it consists of two carbon atoms and six hydrogen atoms. This aligns perfectly with the characteristics of ethane as a saturated hydrocarbon, where each carbon atom is fully bonded with hydrogen, maximizing the number of hydrogen atoms it can carry without forming double or triple bonds.