Aldehydes And Ketones
Which reagent can distinguish ethanal from propanone in a single-step qualitative test?
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Solution
Tollens' reagent
Ethanal is an aldehyde and reduces Tollens' reagent to metallic silver, giving a silver mirror. Propanone is a ketone and generally does not reduce Tollens' reagent. Thus this reagent cleanly differentiates ethanal from propanone in one step.
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About This Question
- Subject
- chemistry
- Chapter
- organic compounds containing oxygen
- Topic
- aldehydes and ketones
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
Tollens' reagent
Ethanal is an aldehyde and reduces Tollens' reagent to metallic silver, giving a silver mirror. Propanone is a ketone and generally does not reduce Tollens' reagent. Thus this reagent cleanly differentiates ethanal from propanone in one step.
This medium difficulty chemistry question is from the chapter organic compounds containing oxygen, covering the topic of aldehydes and ketones. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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