Describe how you could distinguish between ethanol, ethanoic acid, ethyl bromide and 2-methylpropan-1-ol.

First, you should add sodium hydrogen carbonate to all three compounds. Ethanoic acid will react with this to release a gas which will turn limewater cloudy.
Second, you should add acidified potassium dichromate. With ethanol, because it is a primary alcohol, the orange solution will turn to green. With 2-methylpropan-1-ol there will be no colour change because it is a tertiary alcohol.
Finally, the distinguish which solution is ethyl bromide you should add silver nitrate. A cream precipitate will be formed.

EW

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

Why does iodine have a higher boiling point than chlorine?


Explain the geometry and bond angles in a NH3 molecule


State and explain the trend in ionisation energies and its effect on the reactivity of groups containing metals.


You added 75cm^3 of 0.5moldm^-3 HCl to impure MgCO2, and some was left unreacted. The unreacted HCl reacted completely with 21.6cm^m of 0.5moldm^-3 NaOH. So what is the percentage purity of the MgCO3 sample?