Nonane is distinguished by having how many carbon atoms?

Nonane is an alkane that belongs to the family of hydrocarbons characterized by having only single bonds between carbon atoms. The name "nonane" specifically indicates that the molecule contains nine carbon atoms. This is consistent with the nomenclature used in organic chemistry, where the prefix "non-" denotes a chain length of nine carbon atoms.

Additionally, the formula for alkanes, which is CnH2n+2, can be used to verify this. For nonane, if n = 9, then the molecular formula becomes C9H20, which further supports the presence of nine carbon atoms. Therefore, the correct answer is indeed that nonane contains nine carbon atoms.