The total number of secondary alcohols corresponding to the formula C₄H₁₀O,counting stereoisomers separately,is: A)1 B)2 C)3 D)4 E)No secondary alcohols can be made from this formula

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A secondary alcohol has the functional group -OH attached to a carbon with two other carbon substituents. In this formula, there are three carbons with two substituents each: C-7, C-12, and C-14. Each of these carbons can potentially form a secondary alcohol by attaching the -OH group to the remaining substituent. This gives us three possible secondary alcohols. However, C-14 is part of a cyclohexane ring, which means that its alcohol group cannot have any stereoisomers. Therefore, we can only count one secondary alcohol from C-14. The remaining two carbons (C-7 and C-12) can have stereoisomers, giving us a total of two possible secondary alcohols.

The Total Number of Secondary Alcohols Corresponding to the Formula