Alkanes are a simple class of chemical compounds.
They are generically described by the chemical formula . For a given however, there exist several different isomers , i.e., different structures of bonds between atoms. In chemistry, there is much interest in knowing the number, or better yet the list, of such isomers. Alcohols are obtained from alkanes by replacing a hydrogen atom by an group. It follows that they are isomorphic to carbon chains with a distinguished node, or again to alkyl radicals , which are alkanes with a missing hydrogen atom.