A-Level Chemistry: Organic Chemistry II

The middle stretch of A-level organic chemistry — alcohols, carbonyls, acids and their derivatives — is where oxidation levels and reaction conditions start doing real work. This quiz covers that functional-group core with the exam's favourite discriminations.

The alcohol questions rest on classification and its consequences: secondary alcohols oxidising to ketones, tertiary alcohols resisting dichromate entirely (no hydrogen on the carbinol carbon to remove — tested through the reason, not the fact), and the distillation-versus-reflux decision that determines whether a primary alcohol stops at the aldehyde or continues to the acid. Dehydration to alkenes is covered through its standard reagents, concentrated sulfuric or phosphoric acid.

The carbonyl questions cover nucleophilic addition — the mechanism itself, with the electrophilic carbonyl carbon under attack, and its exam-standard example, HCN generated in situ from sodium or potassium cyanide and dilute acid. The aldehyde/ketone distinction is exercised through both classic tests, Tollens' silver mirror and Fehling's brick-red precipitate.

The acid-derivative questions complete the ladder: carboxylic acids liberating carbon dioxide from carbonates (the functional-group test), esterification and both hydrolysis modes — with alkaline hydrolysis yielding the carboxylate salt, not the free acid, a detail that separates precise answers — and acylation, with acyl chlorides reacting vigorously with water and with ammonia to form amides.

Explanations track oxidation levels and name the mechanism at each step, and the Organic Analysis quiz in this collection picks up where these reactions end — identifying the products spectroscopically.

• Predict oxidation products by alcohol class and explain tertiary resistance
• Choose distillation vs reflux to control oxidation endpoint
• Describe nucleophilic addition to carbonyls including the HCN example
• Distinguish aldehydes from ketones with Tollens' and Fehling's tests
• Work through ester formation, both hydrolysis modes, and acylation

Aligned to the organic functional-group core of the DfE A level science subject content: alcohols and their oxidation, aldehydes and ketones, carboxylic acids, esters and acylation.