Q. A compound, containing only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, has a molecular weight of 44. On complete oxidation it is converted into a compound of molecular weight 60. The original compound is
A) An aldehyde
B) An acid
C) An alcohol
D) An ether
Explanation
(a)
On complete oxidation the obtained compound shows increment in molecular weight of only 16. It means only one oxygen atom is added here. This condition is fulfilled by only aldehyde which on oxidation gives acid.
$\ \ \ \ \ \ \ RCHO\overset{\ \ \ \ \ \lbrack O\rbrack\ \ \ \ \ }{\rightarrow}RCOOH$
$\therefore$ Original compound must be
$CH_{3}CHO\overset{\ \ \ \lbrack O\rbrack\ \ \ \ \ }{\rightarrow}CH_{3}COOH$
mol. wt. 44 mol.wt.60
Reviewed by Dr. Abubacker
Physics Educator & NEET/JEE Specialist
Ph.D. in Physics with 19+ years of teaching experience.