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How do carbohydrates differ from hydrocarbons?

Answer 1

Carbohydrates contain #"C"#, #"H"#, and #"O"#. Hydrocarbons contain only #"C"# and #"H"#.

The typical general formula for a hydrocarbon is #C_n"H"_(2n+2)#.

An example is hexane, #"C"_6"H"_14#.

The typical general formula for a carbohydrate is #C_n"H"_(2m)O_m # or #"C"_n("H"_2"O")_m#, where #n ≥ 3# and #m# can be different from #n#.

The name carbohydrate comes from the formula #"C"_n("H"_2"O")_m# (carbon + hydrate).

A typical carbohydrate is glucose, #"C"_6"H"_12"O"_6 #.

All the polar #"OH"# groups in carbohydrates tend to make them soluble in water.

Hydrocarbons are nonpolar and insoluble in water.

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Answer 2

Sebastian Alvarado

The body uses carbohydrates as a major source of energy because they contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, whereas hydrocarbons are mostly found in fossil fuels and only contain carbon and hydrogen atoms.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.