Butane is
from the family of alkanes with –ane as its family name. The but- prefix stands
for having four carbon atoms. The C4H10 is the general formula of butane and
can also represent other forms or structures of butane. However if the question
asks for the molecular formula of butane, think of how many electrons it can
share to the hydrogen atom. The carbon atom can share 4 and hydrogen 1. So if the three hydrogen atoms are attached
to the first carbon, the other shared electron is attached to the second
carbon. The second carbon atom can accommodate two hydrogen and 1 carbon. The
third carbon can accommodate 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 carbon and the fourth
carbon can accommodate 3 hydrogen atoms. The molecular formula is
CH3-CH2-CH2-CH3.
