Question

What physical states (solid, liquid or gas) would you expect the following alkanes
to exist in at room temperature? In each case, assume we are talking about the
“straight chain” isomer.
a) C8H18 b) C4H10 c) C12H26 d) C19H40 e) C15H32

Answer 1

a) C8H18 – liquid (t_melt = −55,8⁰C, t_boil = 125,7⁰C).

b) C4H10 – gas (t_melt = −138,35⁰C, t_boil = -0,5⁰C).

c) C12H26 – liquid (t_melt = −9,6⁰C, t_boil = 216,3⁰C).

d) C19H40 – solid (t_melt = 32,1⁰C, t_boil = 329,76⁰C).

e) C15H32 – liquid (t_melt = 9,9⁰C, t_boil = 270,6⁰C).