how similar are hydrocarbons and carbohydrates?

Answer 1

Hydrocarbons are composed solely of carbon and hydrogen. Carbohydrates contain oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon atoms. They may also contain other elements such as sulfur or nitrogen, but these are usually minor components.

Answer 2

The similarity is that they both contain hydrogen and carbon atoms and they are types of molecule, however carbohydrates contain oxygen atoms as well.

The term hydrocarbon covers a huge range of compounds. The ones we're most familiar with are things like: methane, ethane, propane and butane (all gases); and compounds which are difficult to name but which we see often for instance waxes and tars; and finally a special group, some types of polymer eg. polythene.

Carbohydrates cover a much larger range of compounds many of which occur natrually and some which we manufacture. The classic examples to which the definition normally applies are things like: sugar and starch. Those two examples are certainly the ones used by nutritionists and biologists. I noticed ethanol was quoted as a carbohydrate, while this is technically correct it is far easier and much more common to call ethanol an alcohol. So, I'd stick with sugar and starch as the best examples as they're the ones to which the term is most commonly applied.

Answer 3

Carbohydrates are a subset of hydrocarbons.

Answer 4

They are totally different both structurally and chemically.

Hydrocarbons contain only carbon and hydrogen - methane for example.

Carbohydrates contain hydrogen, carbon and oxygen - alcohol for example.

They have different melting points, freezing points, combustability, uses. They are not similar, they are different

Answer 5

Hydrocarbons are any compounds that are made of hydrogen and carbon only, e.g. all alkanes and alkenes.

Carbohydrates are compounds that are made of hydrogen, carbon AND oxygen, e.g. sugar and starch.