1) What is the major product of dehydration of an alcohol?
2) Why does the simplest ketone have three carbon atoms and no fewer?
keytone; look up the definition of a keytone For the simplest, the R and R' are CH3
The major product of dehydration is an alkene.
1) The major product of dehydration of an alcohol is an alkene. To understand why this is the case, let me explain the process of dehydration. Dehydration of an alcohol involves the removal of a water molecule (H2O) from the alcohol molecule. This can occur through an elimination reaction, where a hydrogen atom from one carbon in the alcohol molecule and a hydroxyl group (-OH) from an adjacent carbon are eliminated.
The result is the formation of a double bond (C=C) between the two carbons that were bonded to the hydrogen and hydroxyl groups. This product is called an alkene.
The specific alkene product obtained depends on the structure of the alcohol and the reaction conditions. In general, the major product is the one that forms the most stable alkene through the removal of the least substituted hydrogen atom. This is determined by the stability of the resulting carbocation intermediate during the reaction.
2) The simplest ketone is acetone (CH3COCH3), which contains three carbon atoms. Ketones are organic compounds that contain a carbonyl group (C=O) bonded to two carbon atoms. The general formula for a ketone is R-CO-R', where R and R' are any alkyl or aryl groups.
In the case of the simplest ketone, the carbonyl group is bonded to two methyl groups (-CH3). This arrangement results in the formula CH3COCH3, where the two methyl groups are attached to the central carbon atom.
The reason why the simplest ketone has three carbon atoms and no fewer is because a ketone must have at least three carbon atoms to accommodate the two carbon atoms bonded to the carbonyl group and allow for a stable molecular structure. If there were only two carbon atoms, there would not be enough bonding sites to accommodate the carbonyl group and maintain a stable structure.
Therefore, a minimum of three carbon atoms is required for a ketone, and the simplest example of such is acetone.