CAIE A Level Chemistry 9701 · Organic synthesis
A student plans to prepare cyclohexanol from cyclohexene. The proposed route is:
Step 1: cyclohexene is treated with steam in the presence of an acid catalyst.
Step 2: the product of Step 1 is purified by distillation.
Explain why Step 1 produces cyclohexanol as the major organic product, and why a small amount of a by-product may also form.
4 marks, so the mark scheme is looking for about 4 separate creditworthy points. Making the same point twice in different words earns it once.
Explain means: Give the reasons or the mechanism: why or how something happens. Link each point to the next with because, so or which means. A list of facts with no links usually loses the reasoning marks.
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