Unit: 3 - alcohols

Question 1

What are the uses of alcohols?

Answer 1

alcohols are used as fuels as they are highly flammable and burn with very clean flames;
alcohols are often used as solvents.

Question 2

What is the structure of an alcohol?

Answer 2

an alcohol is a molecule containing a hydroxyl functional group, -OH group;

saturated, straight-chain alcohols can be represented by the general formula CnH2n+1OH

straight-chain alcohols can be systematically named indicating the position of the hydroxyl group from structural formulae containing no more than eight carbon atoms;

molecular formulae can be written and structural formulae can be drawn, from the systematic names of straight-chain alcohols, containing no more than eight carbons.

Question 3

What are the properties of alcohol?

Answer 3

as alcohols increase in size their melting and boiling points increase due to the increasing strength of the intermolecular forces - the type of intermolecular force does not need to be identified;

methanol, ethanol and propanol are miscible with water, thereafter the solubility decreases as size increases;

alcohols are neutral substances.