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Which of the following compounds is a tertiary alcohol? A - Scottish Highers Chemistry - Question 5 - 2019
Question 5
Which of the following compounds is a tertiary alcohol? A. 2,2-dimethylpropan-1-ol B. 2-methylbutan-2-ol C. pentan-3-ol D. 3-methylbutan-2-ol
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Which of the following compounds is a tertiary alcohol? A - Scottish Highers Chemistry - Question 5 - 2019
Step 1
Identify the structure of each compound
Answer
To determine which of the given compounds is a tertiary alcohol, we first need to understand what a tertiary alcohol is. A tertiary alcohol is one where the hydroxyl group (-OH) is attached to a carbon that is connected to three other carbon atoms.
- 2,2-dimethylpropan-1-ol: The hydroxyl group is on a carbon that is bonded to one carbon (the one on the side chain), hence it is not tertiary.
- 2-methylbutan-2-ol: The hydroxyl group is on the second carbon, which is bonded to three other carbon atoms (the two methyl groups and a butyl), making it a tertiary alcohol.
- pentan-3-ol: The hydroxyl group is on the third carbon, which is connected to two other carbon atoms (the second and fourth), thus not tertiary.
- 3-methylbutan-2-ol: The hydroxyl group here is also connected to a carbon with only two alkyl groups, not qualifying it as tertiary.
Step 2