GRE Subject Test: Chemistry : Alcohol Chemistry

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Chemistry

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Alcohol Chemistry

Which of these methods can be used to synthesize a secondary alcohol?

Possible Answers:

Reacting a ketone with lithium aluminum hydride, then adding water

Adding a Grignard reagent to an aldehyde, then reacting with acid

Reacting propene with water and acid

All of these answer choices are correct

Correct answer:

All of these answer choices are correct

Explanation:

All of these methods can successfully synthesize secondary alcohols.

Lithium aluminum hydride and sodium borohydride are strong and weaker reducing agents, respectively. Both are able to reduce ketones to secondary alcohols.

Adding water and acid to an alkene (such as propene) results in Markovnikov addition of a hydroxyl group, also creating a secondary alcohol.

Grignard reagents (organometallic halides) add to the carbonyl carbon of an aldehyde, adding an alkane group and forming an alcohol product.

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