NCEA Level 3 Organic Chemistry Reaction Schemes Practice Test

The reaction demonstrates Friedel–Crafts acylation, where an acylium ion forms from the acyl chloride in the presence of a Lewis acid and then electrophilically benzene is attacked. Here, acetyl chloride + AlCl3 generates the acylium ion CH3–CO+, which attaches to the benzene ring. After workup, the carbonyl remains attached to the ring, giving a phenyl ketone: Ph–CO–CH3.

This product is acetophenone, the ketone formed by attaching the acetyl group to the ring. In IUPAC naming, this compound is commonly referred to as acetophenone (also seen as 1-phenylethanone in strict naming, but acetophenone is the widely used IUPAC-name form in this context). The other options don’t fit: benzaldehyde would have a formyl group on the ring (an aldehyde, not produced here); acetone is a simple dialkyl ketone with no aromatic ring; acetylbenzene is a less preferred name for the same structure and not the standard IUPAC form used in this context.