Hydrocarbons are important fuel that we burn for many different reasons.

a. what is a hydrocarbon?
b. rank these hydrocarbons by the number of carbons the contain: propane, methane, butane, octane, ethane.

A hydrocarbon is exactly what it says it is. Hydrogen and carbon.

propane is C3H8
methane is CH4
butane is C4H10
octane is C8H18
ethane is C2H6

a. Ah, hydrocarbons, the cool cats of the fuel world! Simply put, a hydrocarbon is a compound made up of hydrogen and carbon atoms. They are like the dynamic duo of the fuel kingdom!

b. Let's get our carbons in order, shall we? It's time for the Carbon Countdown! Here is the ranking from smallest to largest number of carbons: Methane (CH4), Ethane (C2H6), Propane (C3H8), Butane (C4H10), and lastly, Octane (C8H18). So, octane takes the crown with the royal title of "most carbon-tastic hydrocarbon." Long live the octane! Just don't tell the others, they might get a little fuelish.

a. A hydrocarbon is a compound consisting of hydrogen and carbon atoms. It is primarily composed of hydrogen and carbon elements, with varying numbers of carbon atoms and different arrangements of these atoms.

b. Here is the ranking of hydrocarbons based on the number of carbon atoms they contain, from lowest to highest:

1. Methane (CH4) - It contains only one carbon atom.
2. Ethane (C2H6) - It contains two carbon atoms.
3. Propane (C3H8) - It contains three carbon atoms.
4. Butane (C4H10) - It contains four carbon atoms.
5. Octane (C8H18) - It contains eight carbon atoms.

Note: The ranking is based on the number of carbons and does not consider the arrangements of the atoms.

a. A hydrocarbon is a compound made up of hydrogen and carbon atoms. It is a type of organic compound and serves as a fundamental building block for various substances such as fuels, plastics, and solvents. The simplest hydrocarbon is methane (CH4), which consists of a single carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms.

b. To rank the hydrocarbons in terms of the number of carbons they contain, we can simply count the number of carbon atoms in each compound:

- Methane (CH4) has one carbon atom.
- Ethane (C2H6) has two carbon atoms.
- Propane (C3H8) has three carbon atoms.
- Butane (C4H10) has four carbon atoms.
- Octane (C8H18) has eight carbon atoms.

Let's rank them based on the number of carbon atoms:

1. Methane (CH4)
2. Ethane (C2H6)
3. Propane (C3H8)
4. Butane (C4H10)
5. Octane (C8H18)