1. Explain chemical reactions of alcohol compounds.

There are three major kinds of alcohol reactions, which is oxidation, dehydration and
esterification. Oxidation of organic compounds generally increases the number of bonds
from carbon to oxygen or another electronegative element, such as a halogen, and it may
decrease the number of bonds to hydrogen. Based on picture below, secondary alcohols are
easily oxidized without breaking carbon-carbon bonds only as far as the ketone stage. No
further oxidation is seen except under very stringent conditions. Tertiary alcohols cannot be
oxidized at all without breaking carbon-carbon bonds, whereas primary alcohols can be
oxidized to aldehydes or further oxidized to carboxylic acids.

Next is dehydration. This is the process where the element of water are removed.
Dehydrations are most commonly carried out by warming the alcohol in the presence of a
strong dehydrating acid, such as concentrated sulfuric acid.

Most alcohol dehydrations take place by the mechanism shown below. Protonation of the
hydroxyl group allows it to leave as a water molecule. The species that remains has a
carbon atom with only three bonds and a positive charge and is called a carbocation. This
intermediate species can be stabilized by loss of a proton from a carbon atom adjacent to
the positively charged carbon ion, giving the alkene.
The third one is esterification. Alcohols can combine with many kinds of acids to form esters.
When no type of acid is specified, the word ester is assumed to mean a carboxylic ester, the
ester of an alcohol and a carboxylic acid. The reaction, called Fischer esterification, is
characterized by the combining of an alcohol and an acid (with acid catalysis) to yield an
ester plus water.

Under appropriate conditions, inorganic acids also react with alcohols to form esters. To
form these esters, a wide variety of specialized reagents and conditions can be used.
2. Describe applications of alcohol in the industries and in daily life.
a) Alcoholic Drinks
The word "alcohol" in alcoholic drinks refers to ethanol (CH3CH2OH).
b) Use of ethanol as a fuel
Ethanol burns to produce carbon dioxide and water, as shown in the equation below, and
can be used as a fuel in its own right or in mixtures with petrol (gasoline). "Gasohol" is a
petrol/ethanol mixture containing approximately 10–20% ethanol. Because ethanol can be
produced by fermentation, this is a useful method for countries without an oil industry to
reduce the amount of petrol imports.
c) Industrial methylated spirits
Ethanol is usually sold as industrial methylated spirits, which is ethanol with a small quantity
of methanol and possibly some color added. Because methanol is poisonous, industrial
methylated spirits are unfit to drink, allowing purchasers to avoid the high taxes levied on
alcoholic drinks.
d) Ethanol as a solvent
Ethanol is widely used as a solvent. It is relatively safe and can be used to dissolve many
organic compounds that are insoluble in water. It is used, for example, in many perfumes
and cosmetics.
3. Elaborate the differences between aldehydes and ketones based on their chemical
structure which determine their functions.
Aldehydes and ketones are two different kinds of organic compounds. In aldehydes, the
(C=O) is found at the carbon chain’s end. This means that the (C) carbon atom will be
bounded to a hydrogen atom plus another carbon atom. With ketones, the (C=O) group is
usually found at the center of the chain. Thus, the carbon atom in the C=O will be linked to
two separate carbon atoms at each side. This carbonyl group arrangement of the aldehydes
makes it a better compound for oxidization into carboxylic acids. For ketones, it is a tougher
feat to do because you first have to break one of the carbon to carbon (C-C) bond. This
characteristic tells one of the most important functional differences between the two.