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Chemistry vocabulary · Organic Chemistry

Alkene

Meaning in chemistry, with examples

/ˈælkiːn/nounCommon term

In chemistry, alkene means: A hydrocarbon with at least one carbon–carbon double bond. Simple ones have the general formula CₙH₂ₙ, and ethene (ethylene) is the smallest.

In Turkish: alken

How it is used

Used in organic chemistry and the polymer industry. Alkenes are unsaturated and more reactive than alkanes; they undergo addition reactions and are the starting point for many plastics. Their names end in '-ene'.

Example sentences

  1. Bromine water loses its orange color when you add an alkene.

  2. Hydrogenation turns the alkene into the corresponding alkane.

Common collocations

  • addition to an alkene
  • terminal alkene
  • cis and trans alkenes
  • carbon–carbon double bond
  • alkaneA saturated hydrocarbon with only single bonds between its carbon atoms and the general formula CₙH₂ₙ₊₂. Methane, ethane, propane and butane are the simplest ones.
  • hydrocarbonA compound made of only carbon and hydrogen. Methane, propane, ethylene and benzene are examples, and crude oil is mostly a mixture of them.
  • polymerA very large molecule made of many small repeating units called monomers, joined in long chains. Plastics, proteins, starch and DNA are all examples.
  • isomerOne of two or more compounds that have the same molecular formula but a different arrangement of atoms, and so have different properties. Butane and isobutane are an example.
  • functional groupA specific group of atoms within a molecule, such as –OH or –COOH, that gives the molecule its typical reactions. Compounds with the same group react in similar ways.

More terms: Organic Chemistry

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