Purpose Indicate two structural components that can be investigated related to alcohols

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Purpose

Indicate two structural components that can be investigated related to alcohols. Describe how this was investigated.

This experiment meant to compare the rate of oxidation reaction of seven different alcohols which are ethanol, propane-2-ol, 2-methylpropane-2-ol, butane-1-ol, butane-2-ol, 3-methyl butane-1-ol and octane -1-ol. Analyze how will the rate of the reaction be affected based on the length of the chain and the number of carbons in the chain and evaluate how the alcohol being primary, secondary, or tertiary will affect the rate of reaction.

Observations

Table 1.0 The physical properties of the seven alcohols: ethanol, propane-2-ol, 2-methylpropane-2-ol, butane-1-ol, butane-2-ol, 3-methyl butane-1-ol and octane -1-ol

Alcohols	Colour Before	Colour After	Time for colour change (s)
ethanol	Dark Purple	Brown (precipitate)	31.03
propane-2-ol	Dark Purple	Brown	107.98
2-methylpropane-2-ol	Dark Purple	No change	-
butane-1-ol	Dark Purple	Brown to Colouress	43.86
butane-2-ol	Dark Purple	colourless	458.00
3-methyl butane-1-ol	Dark Purple	Brown	81.60
octane -1-ol	Dark Purple	Dark brown	554.40

 

Analysis/Discussion Questions

1. Show the reactions that occurred using the proper format. Name and draw structures of Organic Reactants and Product(s) including formulas of necessary reagents.

 

1. Choose primary, secondary and tertiary alcohol from the alcohols that you tested. Compare the difference in their reactivity and provide a possible explanation.

2-methyl propane-2-ol (tertiary alcohol), butan-2-ol (secondary alcohol), and butane-1-ol ( primary alcohol) react differently because as shown in the observation table that Butan-1-ol's colour changed after 43.86 s, indicating that it reacts quickly; butan-2-ol's colour changed after 258 s, indicating that it reacts slowly compared to the primary; and 2-methyl propane-2-ol's colour did not change at all; The reason behind that is the primary has two hydrogen atoms, one of them will move on to form water, which will speed up the reaction. In contrast, the secondary contains just one hydrogen, which slows down the reaction, and the tertiary contains no hydrogen, thus there was no reaction. Also, the fact that as the number of alkyl groups that donate electrons to carbon atoms that are OH-bonded grows so does the polarity of the carbon-oxygen bond, which further aids the breakage of the bond.

1. Choose at least two primary alcohols that differ in the number of carbons in the main chain from among the alcohols that you tested. Compare and explain the difference in the reactivity of the alcohols that you chose. Include intermolecular forces in your discussion.

Extension

1. Butan-2-ol can undergo oxidation to create butanone. An unorganized chemist has forgotten to label two flasks! They know that one contains butan-2-ol and the other contains butanone. Suggest a method that the chemist could use to determine the identity of the contents of the flasks without using any chemical reactions.

Conclusion 

Write two general statements related to the structure of alcohol and reactivity of that alcohol that you can make based on the results of your experiments.