Final answer:
Cyclic hydrocarbons consist of carbon atoms arranged in a ring. They can be saturated with single bonds, called cycloalkanes, or unsaturated with double or triple bonds, named cycloalkenes and cycloalkynes respectively. Aromatic hydrocarbons like benzene possess a stable ring structure with delocalized electrons.
Step-by-step explanation:
The general structure of cyclic hydrocarbons consists of carbon atoms connected in a ring, which can vary in size from three carbons upwards. These rings can be saturated, such as in cycloalkanes with the general formula CnH2n, where n is the number of carbon atoms and all bonds are single bonds. The simplest example is cyclopropane, a three-carbon ring. Cyclic hydrocarbons can also be unsaturated, like cycloalkenes that contain at least one carbon-carbon double bond, and cycloalkynes that have at least one triple bond. A well-known class of cyclic hydrocarbons is aromatic hydrocarbons, such as benzene, which have special stability due to their planar ring structures with alternating double and single bonds and delocalized pi electrons.