What makes a compound an alcohol, and how do we name it? You sort alcohols as primary, secondary or tertiary. You make them from alkenes, carbonyl compounds and Grignard reagents. You see why hydrogen bonding sets their boiling point and solubility.
3 lessons, about 1 h 15 min3 simulations10 problems3 practice questionsPython in every lesson
An alcohol has an OH group on a carbon that has only single bonds. The carbon that holds the OH decides the class: primary, secondary or tertiary. The name comes from the longest chain that contains that carbon, numbered so that the OH gets the lowest number.
Alkenes give alcohols when water is added in two ways, which put the OH on different carbons. Aldehydes, ketones and acids give alcohols when they are reduced. A Grignard reagent adds to a carbonyl compound to give an alcohol. Choose the route from the alcohol you want.
An O-H bond is polar, so the hydrogen of one alcohol molecule is pulled towards the oxygen of the next. These hydrogen bonds raise the boiling point far above that of an alkane or an ether of the same molar mass. They also make the small alcohols mix with water.
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