“ALCOHOLS”

Activity no. 5
Objectives:

a.) To differentiate primary, secondary and tertiary

alcohols.

b.) To distinguish the different classes of alcohols

based on Lucas test.

c.)To classify the alcohols based on chromic acid test

 Results and Discussions

Name of the Test Reagents Results Explanation

I. Chromic acid
test
Ethyl alcohol -Ethyl alcohol took 15 Ethyl takes only 15
5% Potassium sec to change the seconds to change
dichromate and color from orange to color because it is a
sulfuric acid blue green. primary alcohols .
N-butyl
-n-butyl 30 sec, clear N-butyl is also a
on top, Blue green at primary alcohols.
the bottom
Sec-butyl is a
Sec-butyl -sec-butyl 15sec, secondary alcohols.
blue green.

Tert –butyl is a
Tert-butyl -tert-butyl does not tertiary alcohols.
change color.
Discussions:

Chromic acid test

-Used as a qualitative analytical test for the presence of primary
and secondary alcohols. Primary alcohols are oxidized to
carboxylic acid and secondary alcohols are oxidized to ketones
while tertiary alcohols there is no reaction. In this test, 5%
potassium dichromate and sulfuric acid removed the hydrogen
from the -OH group, and a hydrogen from the carbon atom
attached to the -OH. Tertiary alcohols don't have a hydrogen
atom attached to that carbon.
Table and Results

Name of the Reagents Results Explanation

test
II. Lucas test Lucas Reagents
Tert butyl Cloudy Tertiary

5 minutes, Secondary
Sec butyl cloudy
alcohol
Do not react Primary
N-butyl alcohol
Cloudy tertiary
Benzyl
Discussion:

• In this test, Tertiary alcohols react immediately with Lucas

reagent as evidenced by turbidity owing to the low solubility of the
organic chloride in the aqueous mixture. Secondary alcohols react
within five or so minutes (depending on their solubility). Primary
alcohols do not react appreciably with Lucas reagent at room
temperature. Hence, the time taken for turbidity to appear is a
measure of the reactivity of the class of alcohol, and this time
difference is used to differentiate between the three classes of
alcohols.

- Tert-butyl and benzyl is a tertiary alcohols because it became

cloudy in just a seconds, sec-butyl is a secondary alcohols
because it takes 5 minutes to become cloudy. And n- butyl do not
react therefore it is a primary alcohols.
Table and Results

Name of the Reagents Results Explanation

test
III. Esterification
Ethyl Alcohol Acetic Acid and 30 seconds, The odor of the
conc. Sulfuric strong pleasant vapor tells that
acid odor there’s an ester
Tert- butyl formed.
alcohol 35 seconds,
mild odor
Discussion:

Esterification

• - The process in which an alcohol and an acid are converted to an

ester and water.

• - Acetic acid reacts with ethyl alcohol in the presence of concentrated

sulphuric acid as a catalyst to produce the ester, ethyl ethanoate. The
reaction is slow and reversible. To reduce the chances of the reverse
reaction happening, the ester is distilled off as soon as it is formed.

• - Tertiary alcohols don't work well with Fischer Esterification to yield a

ester.
Table and Results

Name of the Reagents Results Explanation

test
IV. Special test Water, It is hot in Methyl alcohol is
for methyl resorcinol, conc. temperature with soluble in water
alcohol Sulfuric Acid. three layers, that’s why it
colorless, formed 3 layers.
reddish, and
light brown layer
at the bottom.
Table and Results

Name of the Reagents Results Explanation

test
V. Iodoform test

Ethyl alcohol Produced a yellow Pale yellow

precipitate precipitate of idoform
10% drop of NaCl is given by an alcohol
contains the grouping
Isopropyl alcohol Produced a yellow CH3CH-OH
precipitate R

Methyl alcohol When added with

NaOH the color
became light and
when put in hot water
it became colorless.
Discussion:

• Ethyl alcohol is the only primary alcohol to give the

iodoform reaction. If "R" is a hydrocarbon group, then you
have a secondary alcohol. Lots of secondary alcohols
give this reaction, but those that do all have a methyl
group attached to the carbon with the -OH group.
No tertiary alcohols can contain this group because no
tertiary alcohols can have a hydrogen atom attached to
the carbon with the -OH group. No tertiary alcohols give
positive test to the iodoform reaction.
Table and results

Name of the Reagents Results Explanation

test

VI. Acrolein test

Glycerol KHSO4 Pungent odor KHSO4 produce

(Potassium an unsaturated
Bisulfite) aldehyde called
acrolein from the
glycerol.acrolein
is recognised by
its pungent
odour forms
basis of test for
the presence of
glycerol.
Discussion:

• The importance of the acrolein test is to find out whether

there is a presence of glycerin or fats in a compound.
The method to perform the test is to heat a sample with
potassium bisulfate. The test is positive if acrolein is
released.
 Answers to Questions

1.) What are the classes of alcohol based on the alkyl groups in them? Differentiate them
through their general formulas.
-The classes of the alcohol based on the alkyl groups are the primary, secondary, and
tertiary.

2.) Compare the relative ease oxidation primary, secondary, and tertiary butyl alcohol toward
acid dichromatic based on the time required for the solution to change color.
- Primary and secondary alcohols are oxidized rapidly to acids and ketones, respectively by
Cr+6 and the appearance of green color due to the reduced Cr+3 ion. Tertiary alcohols are not
easily oxidized, (however, over time in an acidic environment, they are dehydrated to alkanes).
3.) What is the significance of the Lucas test?
- In Lucas test, we use the Lucas reagent. Lucas reagent is a solution of zinc chloride in
concentrated hydrochloric acid, used to classify alcohols of low molecular weight. So the significance of
this test is that, we can classify if a compound is a primary, secondary, or tertiary alcohol.

4.) How will you distinguish ethyl alcohol from methyl alcohol?
- Ethanol (Ethyl Alcohol) is the portable form of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. Ethyl alcohol is
obtained from the fermentation of sugars and starches, unlike methanol (methyl alcohol), which is
industrial solvent, is poison when swallowed.

5.) What is responsible for the characteristics odor of the acrolein test?
- The responsible for the characteristic odor of the acrolein test is to distinguish what odor it is, if it is
strong or mild odor.

6.) Give one important commercial method of preparing ethyl alcohol in the Philippines. Write the
chemical reaction involved.
- One important commercial method of preparing ethyl alcohol is making a wine form grapes. The
chemical reaction involved is, (sugar) C6H12O6 -> 2 C2H5OH + 2 CO2
Conclusion:

• We therefore conclude that based on chromic acid test,

Ethyl Alcohol and n-butyl are primary alcohols because it
oxidized to carboxylic acid and sec- butyl is a secondary
alcohol because it oxidized to ketones. Tert-butyl is a
tertiary alcohol, it does not react because of the absence
of alpha hydrogen. Based on lucas test, Tertiary alcohols
react immediately with lucas reagent, secondary alcohols
takes 5 minutes or more to react with the reagent and
primary alcohol do not react at all. In this experiment, we
are able to differentiate the classes of alcohols based on
the alkyl groups. Primary alcohols are attached to 1
carbon atom, secondary alcohols are attached to two
carbon atoms and tertiary alcohols are attached to three
carbon atoms.
 GROUP 6

Abdurahman, Raiza Ayana I.

Paharul, Nurfaina A.
Tagayan, Arlyn H.