The compounds consisting of only carbon and hydrogen are called hydrocarbons. The natural sources of hydrocarbons are petroleum (crude oil) and natural gas. Crude oil and natural gas occur deep inside the earth.
Some simple hydrocarbons are listed below:
Name: Methane Ethane Ethene (or ethylene) Ethyne (or acetylene)
Formula: CH4 C2H6 C2H4 C2H2
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Formation of a large number of hydrocarbons is due to the self-linking property (called catenation) of carbon.