§-Quick questions
WAChemistryUnit 4: Organic Chemistry and Chemical Synthesis
Quick questions on Alcohols: WACE Year 12 Chemistry
3short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are classifying alcohols?Show answer
Alcohols are classified by the number of carbon atoms bonded to the carbon that carries the -OH group:
What is oxidation?Show answer
Oxidation uses an oxidising agent such as acidified potassium dichromate (orange, turning green) or permanganate (purple, turning colourless).
What is physical properties from the hydroxyl group?Show answer
The group also explains the physical behaviour of alcohols. Because allows hydrogen bonding between molecules, alcohols have much higher boiling points than alkanes of similar molar mass and the smaller alcohols (methanol, ethanol, propanol) are fully miscible with water. As the carbon chain lengthens, the non-polar hydrocarbon part dominates and water solubility falls, so longer-chain alcohols behave more like hydrocarbons. This trend connects directly to the intermolecular-forces reasoning used throughout Unit 4.
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