Questions: Which one of the following compounds is an alcohol?
CH3-SH
CH3-CH2-O-CH2-CH3
CH3-CH=CH-CH2-CH3
Transcript text: Which one of the following compounds is an alcohol?
$\mathrm{CH}_{3}-\mathrm{SH}$
$\mathrm{CH}_{3}-\mathrm{CH}_{2}-\mathrm{O}-\mathrm{CH}_{2}-\mathrm{CH}_{3}$
$\mathrm{CH}_{3}-\mathrm{CH}=\mathrm{CH}-\mathrm{CH}_{2}-\mathrm{CH}_{3}$
Solution
Solution Steps
Step 1: Identifying the functional group of an alcohol
An alcohol is an organic compound containing a hydroxyl (-OH) functional group attached to a carbon atom.
Step 2: Analyzing the given compounds
The given compounds are:
$\mathrm{CH}_{3}-\mathrm{SH}$: This compound contains a thiol (-SH) functional group, so it's a thiol, not an alcohol.
$\mathrm{CH}_{3}-\mathrm{CH}_{2}-\mathrm{O}-\mathrm{CH}_{2}-\mathrm{CH}_{3}$: This compound contains an ether (-O-) functional group, so it's an ether, not an alcohol.
$\mathrm{CH}_{3}-\mathrm{CH}-\mathrm{CH}_{2}-\mathrm{CH}_{3}$
$|\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $
$\mathrm{OH}$ : This compound contains a hydroxyl (-OH) functional group attached to a carbon atom, so it is an alcohol.
$\mathrm{CH}_{3}-\mathrm{CH}_{2}-\mathrm{CH}$
$||$
$\mathrm{O}$: This compound contains an aldehyde (-CHO) group, so it is an aldehyde, not an alcohol.