What type of hybridization is present in the carbon atoms of alkanes?
Practice Questions
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Q1
What type of hybridization is present in the carbon atoms of alkanes?
sp
sp2
sp3
sp3d
The carbon atoms in alkanes are sp3 hybridized.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: What type of hybridization is present in the carbon atoms of alkanes?
Solution: The carbon atoms in alkanes are sp3 hybridized.
Steps: 6
Step 1: Understand what alkanes are. Alkanes are a type of hydrocarbon that only contain single bonds between carbon atoms.
Step 2: Know that carbon has four valence electrons and can form four bonds.
Step 3: Learn about hybridization. Hybridization is the mixing of atomic orbitals to form new hybrid orbitals.
Step 4: In alkanes, each carbon atom forms four single bonds with other atoms (either carbon or hydrogen).
Step 5: Since each carbon forms four bonds, it uses sp3 hybridization, which means one s orbital and three p orbitals mix to create four equivalent sp3 hybrid orbitals.
Step 6: Conclude that the carbon atoms in alkanes are sp3 hybridized because they form four single bonds.