CH3CH2CH3 is a hydrocarbon, specifically an alkane. Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons, meaning they contain only single bonds between carbon atoms and are fully saturated with hydrogen atoms.
This particular compound is known as propane. The molecular structure of propane consists of three carbon atoms (C) and eight hydrogen atoms (H), which can be represented as C3H8. In propanes structure, each carbon atom forms single bonds with other carbon atoms and with hydrogen atoms, fulfilling the tetravalent nature of carbon.
Understanding its classification is important in various fields, including organic chemistry and industrial applications, as propane is widely used as a fuel and a building block for other organic compounds.