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CAIE A Level Chemistry 9701

Hydroxy compounds questions

Exam-style questions on Hydroxy compounds, ordered from foundation to challenge. Pick one, write your answer the way you would in the exam, and it comes back marked against the mark scheme, point by point.

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Written by Markquill to follow the Cambridge International syllabus. Markquill is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Cambridge International.

  1. Compare5 marksStandardButane-1,2-diol is a diol with one primary alcohol group and one secondary alcohol group. Compare the behaviour of butane-1,2-diol with that of a secondary alcohol, such as propan-2-ol, when each is treated separately…
  2. Suggest4 marksStandardPropan-2-ol can be converted into propene. Suggest the reagents and conditions for this reaction.
  3. Explain4 marksStandardEthanol reacts with ethanoyl chloride to form ethyl ethanoate and hydrogen chloride. Explain, in terms of the species involved, why this reaction occurs readily at room temperature and why the product is an ester.
  4. Describe5 marksStandardEthanol reacts with ethanoyl chloride to form an ester. Describe the reaction, including the name of the ester formed, the other product, and the conditions under which the reaction is carried out.
  5. Describe5 marksStandardA student refluxes ethanol with an excess of acidified potassium dichromate(VI). Describe the oxidation reaction that occurs, including the conditions, the product formed, and how the product can be isolated from the…
  6. Compare5 marksStandardCompare the oxidation of a primary alcohol, such as ethanol, and a secondary alcohol, such as propan-2-ol, with acidified potassium dichromate(VI). In your answer, refer to the products formed and the conditions…
  7. Explain4 marksStandardButanone, CH3COCH2CH3, and butanal, CH3CH2CH2CHO, can each be reduced to an alcohol using NaBH4. Explain how the structures of butanone and butanal affect the type of alcohol formed in each reduction. In your answer…
  8. Suggest4 marksStandardSuggest a reagent and conditions for the conversion of cyclohexene to cyclohexane-1,2-diol.
  9. Explain4 marksStandardEthanol reacts with ethanoyl chloride (CH3COCl) to form ethyl ethanoate (CH3COOC2H5). Write the equation for this reaction and explain why acyl chlorides react more readily with ethanol than do carboxylic acids.
  10. Explain4 marksStandardEthanol reacts with ethanoyl chloride, CH3COCl, to form the ester ethyl ethanoate, CH3COOC2H5, and hydrogen chloride. Explain how this reaction takes place, including the conditions used and the role of the acyl…
  11. Compare5 marksStandardA student prepares ethyl ethanoate by two methods. In method 1, ethanol is warmed with ethanoyl chloride. In method 2, ethanol is warmed with ethanoic acid and a few drops of concentrated sulfuric acid. Compare the two…
  12. Suggest4 marksStandardA student adds ethanoyl chloride dropwise to an excess of ethanol at room temperature. White fumes are observed and a liquid ester is formed. Suggest the identity of the white fumes and the ester formed, and describe…
  13. Explain4 marksStandardA student adds a small piece of sodium metal to a sample of phenol. State what is observed and write an equation for the reaction. Explain why this reaction shows that phenol is more acidic than ethanol.
  14. Suggest4 marksStandardA student plans to prepare ethyl ethanoate by reacting ethanol with ethanoyl chloride, CH3COCl. Suggest the conditions needed for this reaction and the products formed.
  15. Explain4 marksStandardA student is given three unlabelled bottles containing the isomeric alcohols butan-1-ol, butan-2-ol, and 2-methylpropan-2-ol. Describe chemical tests using acidified potassium dichromate(VI) that would allow the…
  16. Compare5 marksStandardThe pKa values of water, ethanol, and phenol at 25°C are 15.7, 16.0, and 10.0 respectively. Compare the relative acidities of these three compounds. Explain the reasons for the differences in terms of the stability of…
  17. Explain4 marksStandardPhenol reacts with bromine water at room temperature to give a white precipitate of 2,4,6-tribromophenol. Benzene does not react with bromine water under the same conditions. Explain these observations.
  18. Compare5 marksStandardCompare the preparation of propan-1-ol by the alkaline hydrolysis of 1-bromopropane with its preparation by the acid-catalysed hydrolysis of propyl ethanoate. In your answer, give the reagents and conditions for each…
  19. Explain4 marksStandardButanone can be reduced to an alcohol using NaBH4 in aqueous solution. Explain why the product of this reduction is a secondary alcohol, and state the name of the alcohol formed.
  20. Describe5 marksStandardA student adds a few drops of ethanoyl chloride to a sample of ethanol in a test tube. Describe the reaction that occurs, including the conditions, the identity of the organic product, and any observations that would…
  21. Compare5 marksStandardA student prepares the ester ethyl ethanoate in two ways. Method 1: ethanol is warmed with ethanoic acid and a few drops of concentrated H2SO4. Method 2: ethanol is added to ethanoyl chloride in a fume cupboard…
  22. Explain4 marksStandardExplain the reaction between ethanol and ethanoyl chloride to form ethyl ethanoate. In your answer, identify the organic product, the inorganic by-product, describe any observations during the reaction, and explain why…
  23. Explain4 marksStandardA student wants to prepare butane-1,2-diol from but-1-ene. Explain, in terms of the reagents and conditions, how this could be done. Include the type of reaction involved.
  24. Describe5 marksStandardDescribe how ethanol is manufactured industrially from ethene. In your answer, include the reagents, the catalyst, and the conditions used.
  25. Explain7 marksChallengeButan-1-ol and 2-methylpropan-2-ol are isomeric alcohols. Each is heated under reflux with an excess of acidified potassium dichromate(VI), K2Cr2O7 and dilute sulfuric acid. Explain why the two alcohols behave…
  26. Compare6 marksChallengeButane-1,3-diol is a diol with one primary alcohol group and one secondary alcohol group. Butane-1,2-diol has two primary alcohol groups. Both are separately refluxed with an excess of acidified potassium…
  27. Explain7 marksChallengeEthanol reacts with ethanoyl chloride to form ethyl ethanoate. Explain why this reaction is used to prepare esters, and describe the reaction conditions and the role of the acyl chloride in the formation of the ester.
  28. Suggest5 marksChallengeA student adds propanoyl chloride dropwise to an excess of cold ethanol. The mixture is then warmed gently for a few minutes. State the organic product of this reaction and suggest why the ethanol is used in excess and…
  29. Describe5 marksChallengeEthanoyl chloride is added to ethanol in a dry test tube. Describe the reaction that occurs, including the conditions, the organic product, the other product, and the observations that would be made.
  30. Suggest6 marksChallengeA student plans to prepare cyclohexane-1,2-diol from cyclohexene in the laboratory. Suggest two different reactions that could be used, and for each give the reagents and conditions.
  31. Describe7 marksChallengeA student has three unlabelled bottles containing the isomeric alcohols butan-1-ol, butan-2-ol and 2-methylpropan-2-ol. (a) Describe the products formed when each alcohol is heated under reflux with acidified potassium…
  32. Suggest6 marksChallengeA student adds ethanol to ethanoyl chloride in a dry test tube. White fumes are produced and a liquid ester, ethyl ethanoate, forms. Suggest why the reaction is carried out in a dry test tube and why white fumes are…
  33. Describe7 marksChallengeA student plans to oxidise ethanol to ethanoic acid in the laboratory. Describe the reagents and conditions needed, the type of reaction involved, and how the product is isolated. Include in your answer the oxidation…
  34. Compare7 marksChallengeEthanoyl chloride reacts with ethanol to form ethyl ethanoate. Compare this reaction with the reaction of ethanol with ethanoic acid to form the same ester. In your answer, refer to the conditions used and the atom…
  35. Compare6 marksChallengeA student carries out reactions of ethanol and of ethanoic acid with ethanoyl chloride, CH3COCl, in a fume cupboard. In each case the organic product is collected and identified. Compare the reaction of ethanol with…
  36. Suggest5 marksChallengePropan-2-ol is passed over heated aluminium oxide, Al2O3, and the gaseous product is collected. Suggest two organic products that could form and, for each, describe the conditions and reagents needed to convert it back…
  37. Describe5 marksChallengeEthanol is manufactured industrially by the hydration of ethene with steam. Describe the conditions used for this reaction and explain why the reaction is carried out at a high pressure.
  38. Describe7 marksChallengeDescribe the reaction between ethanol and ethanoyl chloride to form the ester ethyl ethanoate. In your answer include the conditions, the other product, and the observations you would make when this reaction is carried…
  39. Compare7 marksChallengeA student prepares the ester ethyl ethanoate and then hydrolyses samples of it in two separate experiments. In experiment 1, the ester is heated under reflux with dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide. In experiment 2, the…
  40. Describe7 marksChallengePhenol undergoes electrophilic substitution reactions with aqueous bromine and with dilute nitric acid. Describe the reactions of phenol with aqueous bromine and with dilute nitric acid, and explain why the conditions…
  41. Describe7 marksChallengeDescribe the reaction between ethanol and ethanoyl chloride to produce ethyl ethanoate. Include in your answer the structural changes, the role of pyridine, and any observations.