Why are single bonds saturated?

Question

Isabella Acosta · Accepted Answer

Single bonds themselves are not saturated, but an organic molecule composed of only single bonds is said to be saturated.

A saturated organic molecule is one made up of carbon atoms connected by single bonds; alkanes, such as hexane, decane, and octadecane, are examples of saturated molecules. Unsaturated organic molecules are those that contain two or three carbon-carbon bonds, such as 1-hexene, 1,3-decadiene, or 7-octadecyne. When considering unsaturation, consider that an organic molecule can add hydrogen to its backbone in the following ways: a molecule with only single bonds is saturated with hydrogen; a molecule with two double bonds can add one hydrogen molecule, and a molecule with three triple bonds can add two hydrogen molecule.

Maya Allen · Answer

undefined Single bonds are saturated because they involve the sharing of one pair of electrons between two atoms, resulting in the maximum bond saturation for that particular bond.

Ryan Andrews · Answer

undefined Single bonds are considered saturated because they involve the sharing of only one pair of electrons between two atoms. Each atom in the bond has achieved its maximum stability by filling its valence shell with the required number of electrons. In the case of single covalent bonds, this usually means that each atom has achieved a full outer shell with either two electrons (for hydrogen) or eight electrons (for most other elements). Since the bond involves the maximum number of shared electrons possible, it is termed saturated.