MHT-CET Chemistry · Teaching notes
Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids — MHT-CET Chemistry
Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids is about three questions a paper in MHT-CET Chemistry and almost never HARD — one in thirty of its past-year questions. It is the chapter of named reactions: Rosenmund, Stephen and DIBAL-H for making aldehydes, the cadmium and Grignard routes to ketones, aldol and Cannizzaro, Clemmensen and Wolff–Kishner, Tollens and Schiff, and for the acids the PCl₅ and Grignard–CO₂ conversions. Around them sit the named mono-, di- and tricarboxylic acids and the IUPAC priority rule that makes COOH outrank CHO outrank OH. Five pages in the book's order. Every PYQ is tagged.
Every subtopic, worked example, formula and trap in one printable document — answers shown, ready to share.
Subtopic notes
Nomenclature and Classification of Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids
24 PYQsAldehydes (CₙH₂ₙO, R–CHO) and ketones (R–CO–R') are named -al and -one; carboxylic acids are -oic acids and carry the highest IUPAC priority, so in a polyfunctional compound COOH is the parent, then CHO, then OH — and the common acids are learnt by the number of COOH groups they carry.
Open note
Preparation of Aldehydes and Ketones
30 PYQsAldehydes come from acid chlorides (Rosenmund, H₂/Pd–BaSO₄), from nitriles (Stephen, SnCl₂/HCl; or DIBAL-H) and from toluene (Etard, CrO₂Cl₂); ketones come from acid chlorides with dialkylcadmium, from nitriles with a Grignard reagent, and Grignard reagents themselves come from R–X and magnesium in dry ether.
Open note
Nucleophilic Addition and Condensation Reactions
15 PYQsThe carbonyl carbon is electrophilic, so nucleophiles add to it — HCN gives a cyanohydrin, an alcohol a hemiacetal, ammonia derivatives the oximes, hydrazones and semicarbazones — and two carbonyls with α-hydrogens combine in the aldol reaction, while those without α-hydrogen disproportionate in the Cannizzaro reaction.
Open note
Oxidation, Reduction and Identification Tests
21 PYQsA carbonyl is reduced to CH₂ by Clemmensen (Zn–Hg/conc. HCl) or Wolff–Kishner (hydrazine, then KOH in ethylene glycol), to the alcohol by LiAlH₄; aldehydes alone are oxidised by Tollens and Fehling and turn Schiff's reagent pink, and methyl ketones and ethanal give the haloform reaction.
Open note
Carboxylic Acids: Properties, Reactions and Derivatives
21 PYQsCarboxylic acids boil highest of all comparable compounds because they hydrogen-bond as dimers; they are made from Grignard reagents and CO₂ or by oxidative cleavage, converted to acid chlorides by PCl₅ or SOCl₂, and their derivatives — chlorides, anhydrides, esters — hydrolyse back to the acid.
Open note
PYQ weightage by concept
12 concepts · 111 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
PYQ weightage by concept
12 concepts · 111 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| The Named Acids: Mono-, Di- and Tricarboxylic | 8 | 7% |
| General Formula, Simple Ketones, and the Physical Facts | 8 | 7% |
| IUPAC Priority: COOH Beats CHO Beats OH | 8 | 7% |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Rosenmund, Stephen and DIBAL-H: Three Ways to an Aldehyde | 14 | 13% |
| Grignard and Dialkylcadmium: Ketones and Alcohols | 12 | 11% |
| Etard Reaction and Hydrolysis Routes | 4 | 4% |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Aldol Reaction and the Cannizzaro Reaction | 9 | 8% |
| Cyanohydrins, Hemiacetals and the Ammonia Derivatives | 6 | 5% |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Clemmensen, Wolff–Kishner and Hydride Reductions | 12 | 11% |
| Tollens, Fehling, Schiff and the Haloform Test | 9 | 8% |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Acid Chlorides, Anhydrides, Esters and Amides | 12 | 11% |
| Boiling Points of Acids, and Making Them | 9 | 8% |
Formula & revision sheet
11 formulas · 1 reference tables · 12 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Formula & revision sheet
11 formulas · 1 reference tables · 12 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Formulas (2)
Reference tables (1)
The Named Acids: Mono-, Di- and Tricarboxylic7 rows
| Common name | IUPAC name | COOH groups |
|---|---|---|
| Formic / acetic / propionic | Methanoic / ethanoic / propanoic | 1 |
| Butyric / valeric / caproic | Butanoic / pentanoic / hexanoic | 1 Valeric and caproic are MONO — the planted 'dicarboxylic' options. |
| Oxalic / malonic / succinic | Ethanedioic / propanedioic / butanedioic | 2 |
| Glutaric / adipic | Pentanedioic / hexanedioic | 2 |
| Phthalic | Benzene-1,2-dicarboxylic | 2 The one aromatic acid on the list that is NOT mono. |
| Citric | 2-Hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic | 3 The only tricarboxylic acid asked. |
| Benzoic / salicylic / o-toluic | Benzoic / 2-hydroxybenzoic / 2-methylbenzoic | 1 |
Watch out for (3)
- Hearing 'valeric' and 'glutaric' as the same kind of name→ The Named Acids: Mono-, Di- and Tricarboxylic
- Calling acetophenone a simple ketone→ General Formula, Simple Ketones, and the Physical Facts
- Naming the compound as a phenol because the OH is on the ring→ IUPAC Priority: COOH Beats CHO Beats OH
Formulas (3)
Watch out for (3)
- Assigning DIBAL-H to Rosenmund→ Rosenmund, Stephen and DIBAL-H: Three Ways to an Aldehyde
- Stopping at dimethylcadmium→ Grignard and Dialkylcadmium: Ketones and Alcohols
- Reading the Etard intermediate as benzal chloride→ Etard Reaction and Hydrolysis Routes
Formulas (2)
Watch out for (2)
- Confusing hydrazine with semicarbazide→ Cyanohydrins, Hemiacetals and the Ammonia Derivatives
- Reducing the wrong aldehyde in the crossed Cannizzaro→ Aldol Reaction and the Cannizzaro Reaction
Formulas (2)
Watch out for (2)
- Losing a carbon in Wolff–Kishner→ Clemmensen, Wolff–Kishner and Hydride Reductions
- Expecting the haloform reaction from every carbonyl→ Tollens, Fehling, Schiff and the Haloform Test
Formulas (2)
Watch out for (2)
- Forgetting the carbon that CO₂ brings→ Boiling Points of Acids, and Making Them
- Stopping at the sodium salt→ Acid Chlorides, Anhydrides, Esters and Amides