Question

Write the molecular formula and structure of cyclohexane. How many covalent bonds are there in a molecule of cyclohexane?

Answer 1

Hint: Cyclohexane is a simple ring structure having $6$ carbon atoms. Its formula is ${C_6}{H_{12}}$. Covalent bonds are the bonds formed when there is sharing of electrons between the molecules. Cyclohexane does not contain any double bonds or triple bonds.

Complete answer:
Cyclohexane is an alicyclic hydrocarbon comprising a ring of six carbon atoms. The molecular formula of cyclohexane is ${C_6}{H_{12}}$. The structure of cyclohexane is composed of a simple hexagon ring. Where each point depicts a fully saturated carbon with hydrogen atoms attached. The structure does not contain any double bonds or triple bonds; it is only made up of single bonds. The structure of cyclohexane is shown below-

In the structure of cyclohexane, we can see that there are six carbon atoms attached by single bonds and twelve carbon-hydrogen single bonds. Therefore in the structure of the cyclohexane molecule, $18$ covalent bonds are present.
Cyclohexane is a colorless, non-polar, flammable liquid that has a distinctive detergent-like smell. The uses of cyclohexane include the production of adipic acid and caprolactam which are precursors to nylon.

Note:
It is important to note that cyclohexane is not an aromatic compound, it is an alicyclic compound. Both aromatic and alicyclic are different. In the case of aromatic compounds, there is a ring of carbon and hydrogen but with delocalized pi electrons, whereas in alicyclic compounds carbon and hydrogen rings are present but no delocalized pi electrons. Aromatic compounds because of pi electrons have double bonds whereas alicyclic compounds do not have double bonds, they only have single bonds.