JEE Main Chemistry question

An alcohol, on oxidation, produces a ketone with the same number of carbon atoms. When the ketone is oxidized, it yields an acid with a lesser number of carbon atoms. The alcohol could be a

(A)Primary alcohol
(B)Secondary alcoholCorrect
(C)Tertiary alcohol
(D)None of these

Answer: (B)

Solution

Only a secondary alcohol oxidizes to a ketone (same carbon count, since no carbon is lost in alcohol→ketone oxidation); further vigorous oxidative cleavage of the ketone (breaking a C–C bond adjacent to the carbonyl)

See the full step-by-step solution

Create a free account to read the complete working, and practise questions like this in a timed test.

Create a free account

Question ID VK-149332