Question

How many primary,secondary,and tertiary hydrogen atoms are present in isobutane?

Answer 1

 It is a great questions and we’re am happy you asked because there are a lot of students who are confused about this subject. Let’s try to clear the air. Because here at StudyOrgo.com – we love to clear the air and make things easy!

We use the terms primary, secondary, and tertiary to refer to the substitution level that a given carbon has in a molecule. In other words, these terms are used to describe how many other carbons a given carbon is attached to.

So to figure out the substitution level of any given carbon, follow these three easy steps:

Step #1: Pick a carbon

Step #2: Count how many carbons are directly attached to it. Other elements such as hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen etc. don’t count.

Step #3: Give it a label:

Primary = a carbon attached to only ONE other carbonSecondary  = a carbon attached to only TWO other carbonsTertiary = a carbon attached to THREE other carbons

In the below example each carbon is color coded using the labels in step #3 above.

Go ahead give it a try!

OK- now bear in mind that hydrogens attached to a given carbon ALSO take on the labels as described in step #3 above.

So we can apply the same principle to the hydrogens:

Primary = a hydrogen on a carbon attached to only ONE other carbon Secondary  = a hydrogen on a carbon attached to only TWO other carbons Tertiary = a hydrogen on a carbon attached to THREE other carbons

Answer 2

Answer:

9 primary hydrogen atoms and 1 tertiary hydrogen atoms are present in iso butane.