How do I predict the chemical formula of butyne, having one carbon-carbon triple bond??
Because it is an "yne" without any "ols", "amines" or other suffixes, you know for starters that the only atoms in it are carbon and hydrogen. Because it is a "but-" you know that there are four carbons in it. And because two of the carbons are connected with a triple bond (which you get form the "-yne), you know that the tripple bond takes 4 hydrogens out of the system. The saturated 4 carbon alkane would have had c*2 + 2 hydrogens where c is the number of carbons - that is, butane would have had 10. The two extra bonds between two of the carbons are two degrees of unsaturation, which remove hydrogens from the system. 10 - 4 = 6 hydrogens. So the formula is C4H6.
EL perfecto^
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