What is the difference between ethene , ethyne, ethylene and acetylene??? Thanks!

Pleases help... I have an organic chem test tomorrow and i am super confused!

1 Answer
Jan 16, 2016

Ethene and ethyne are the correct IUPAC chemical names for ethylene and acetylene, respectively.

Explanation:

The middle letter indicates the number of bonds between the carbon atoms.
Ethane = single bond
Ethene = double bond
Ethyne = triple bond

The common "trade names" of many chemicals evolved over years of discovery and use, and due to familiarity and "installed base" many of them are still in use.