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hydrocarbon

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hydrocarbon

Any of a class of chemical compounds containing only hydrogen and carbon (for example, the alkanes and alkenes). Hydrocarbons are obtained industrially principally from petroleum and coal tar.

Unsaturated hydrocarbons contain at least one double or triple carbon–carbon bond, whereas saturated hydrocarbons contain only single bonds.

Chemical energy is stored in hydrocarbons, substances made up of carbon and hydrogen. Hydrocarbons obtain their energy from the sun when plants use sunlight during photosynthesis to produce glucose (food). Fossil fuels, such as petroleum and gas, contain the hydrocarbons of dead plants that have been fossilized over millions of years.



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When I had succeeded in dissolving the hydrocarbon which I was at work at, I came back to our problem of the Sholtos, and thought the whole matter out again.
Sign of the Four by Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan View in context
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