Alkene hydrated with water under acidic conditions yields which product?

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Multiple Choice

Alkene hydrated with water under acidic conditions yields which product?

Acid-catalyzed hydration of alkenes adds water across the carbon–carbon double bond to give an alcohol. In this reaction, the double bond is first protonated by the acid to form the more stable carbocation (Markovnikov orientation), then water acts as a nucleophile and attacks the carbocation to give a protonated alcohol. Deprotonation restores the neutral alcohol and regenerates the acid catalyst. So the OH ends up on the more substituted carbon, producing an alcohol as the product. That’s why an alcohol is produced rather than an alkane (which would require hydrogenation rather than hydration), an ether (which would involve two alkyl groups forming from dehydration or different pathways), or a carboxylic acid (which would require oxidation or other specific routes).

Acid-catalyzed hydration of alkenes adds water across the carbon–carbon double bond to give an alcohol. In this reaction, the double bond is first protonated by the acid to form the more stable carbocation (Markovnikov orientation), then water acts as a nucleophile and attacks the carbocation to give a protonated alcohol. Deprotonation restores the neutral alcohol and regenerates the acid catalyst. So the OH ends up on the more substituted carbon, producing an alcohol as the product.

That’s why an alcohol is produced rather than an alkane (which would require hydrogenation rather than hydration), an ether (which would involve two alkyl groups forming from dehydration or different pathways), or a carboxylic acid (which would require oxidation or other specific routes).

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