Sources and Preparation of Hydrocarbons

The physical properties of benzene and its derivatives are quite similar to those of other hydrocarbons. The compounds are nonpolar, insoluble in polar solvents such as water, but generally soluble in nonpolar solvents. In fact, derivatives of benzene are widely used as the solvent for many nonpolar organic compounds. Like other hydrocarbons of comparable molar mass, benzene is a liquid at room temperature. 

The five categories of hydrocarbons we have considered are summarized in Table 21.4. 

Substances with intermolecular attractions that are roughly equal are most apt to be soluble in each other (Section 16.4). Similar molecular polarity contributes to similar intermolecular attractions. 

Aliphatic open-chain AUcene CnH2n Unsaturated / c=c /  

Almost all hydrocarbons are derived from fossil fuels coal, natural gas, and petroleum. These substances are natural products that have resulted from the decay of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. We are familiar with natural gas 

---