Master NCEA Level 3 Organic Chemistry Reaction Schemes. Prepare with multiple choice questions, complete with hints and detailed explanations. Ace your exam with our comprehensive tools!

Multiple Choice

An alkene treated with alcoholic potassium hydroxide under reflux yields which compound?

In this setup, an alkene undergoes hydration in a basic, alcoholic medium. The hydroxide from hot alcoholic KOH adds across the carbon–carbon double bond, giving an alkoxide intermediate. A proton transfer from the surrounding alcohol solvent then converts that intermediate into the corresponding alcohol. The base/solvent combination drives addition of the “water equivalent” across the double bond, producing an alcohol rather than a haloalkane, carboxylic acid, or ether.

In this setup, an alkene undergoes hydration in a basic, alcoholic medium. The hydroxide from hot alcoholic KOH adds across the carbon–carbon double bond, giving an alkoxide intermediate. A proton transfer from the surrounding alcohol solvent then converts that intermediate into the corresponding alcohol. The base/solvent combination drives addition of the “water equivalent” across the double bond, producing an alcohol rather than a haloalkane, carboxylic acid, or ether.