Step 1: Understand that alkanes are a type of hydrocarbon, which means they are made up of hydrogen (H) and carbon (C) atoms.
Step 2: Know that alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons, meaning they have single bonds between carbon atoms.
Step 3: Identify that the formula for alkanes is based on the number of carbon atoms (n).
Step 4: The general formula for alkanes is written as C_nH_(2n+2).
Step 5: In this formula, 'C' represents carbon atoms, 'H' represents hydrogen atoms, and 'n' is a variable that can be any whole number (0, 1, 2, 3, ...).
Step 6: For every carbon atom (n), there are 2n + 2 hydrogen atoms.
