Organic chemistry deals with compounds containing carbon.
Carbon atoms form strong covalent bonds with one another. The ability of carbon atoms to join repeatedly to other carbon atoms is called catenation.
Catenation makes many different carbon frameworks possible, including continuous chains, branched structures and rings. This is one reason such a large variety of carbon compounds can exist.
Hydrocarbon: a compound whose atoms are all either carbon or hydrogen.
Methane, ethane, propane and butane are hydrocarbons. Ethanol is not, because its molecules also contain oxygen.
- In a saturated compound, carbon atoms are joined only by single carbon–carbon bonds.
- An unsaturated compound contains a carbon–carbon double bond, .