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Paper 3 · June 2009 · Organic Chemistry

Which reagent detects the presence of added alcohol in petrol consisting of a mixture of alkanes and alkenes?

ANa.
BBr2Br_2 (in CCl4CCl_4).
CKMnO4(aq)KMnO_{4(aq)}.
DNaOH(aq)NaOH_{(aq)}

Explanation

The marking scheme gives answer A. Sodium reacts with the -OH group of alcohols to give hydrogen gas. Alkanes do not react with sodium. Alkenes react with Br2Br_2 and KMnO4KMnO_4, so those reagents cannot distinguish alcohol from alkene.

ZIMSEC Chemistry Paper 3, June 2009, Q16

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