Why is the density of cyclic hydrocarbons more than that of their acyclic counterparts?
For ex:
Cyclopentane: 751 kg/m³
Pentane: 626 kg/m³
Cyclohexane:779 kg/m³
Hexane:655 kg/m³
In fact, as you can see above, cyclopentane is even denser than hexane.
My reasoning so far is:
Attractions in hydrocarbons depend only on London forces, which increases with surface area. An alkane will have more surface area for bonding as compared to a cycloalkane (The inside of the ring cant be used), so it will have more forces, and hence will be packed closer (be denser).
But this contradicts the facts.