How Do Hydrogen and Carbon Combine to Form Methane?

[PowerBuilder]

This is my first of hopefully not too many naft questions.


It is I suppose a pretty straight forward question. Which implies that a straight forward answer is available. I'm pretty much unsure how to ask Google my question.

In regards to methane (CH4) based on that info...and forgetting about previous knowledge about methane...what can we expect by this combination ? Is it a process of looking at what hydrogen is, at what carbon is and working out what the combination would produce ?

This question isn't directly about methane. I chose to use that compound since it's pretty straight forward. I could have easily have said H20, LiF (Lithium Fluoride) or any of the many, many compounds.

My apologies if I worded the question a bit...vague.

 

[Borek]

I would say problem is not that you have worded your question vague, I have a feeling you have NOT worded any question.

I can only guess what you mean - is the question "how can we predict properties of the compound, knowing its composition?"

 

[PowerBuilder]

I can only guess what you mean - is the question "how can we predict properties of the compound, knowing its composition?"

That sounds about spot on. Forgetting all that we know about methane (in this example), if I were to draw a lewis diagram of the compound, are there any clues to what properties of the compound would have ?

I feel there would be since we know and understand both elements (carbon & hydrogen). What I'm finding hard to come to grasp with is how it operates off paper!

 

[Borek]

There is no simple way of dealing with this problem. Some simple predictions are possible, but general approach calls for a really complicated quantum chemistry/physics, and I am not sure if we are already able to calculate/predict properties of every compound; most likely not.

It is much easier to classify known compounds into classes based on their already known properties, and then to try to generalize this knowledge to new compounds that fall into classification scheme.