(a) What is a functional group? (b) What functional group characterizes an alcohol? (c) Write a structural formula for 1-pentanol, the alcohol derived from pentane by making a substitution on one of the carbon atoms.

Short Answer

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(a) A functional group is an atom or group of atoms within a molecule responsible for the molecule's characteristic chemical reactions. (b) The functional group characterizing an alcohol is the hydroxyl group (-OH). (c) The structural formula for 1-pentanol is \(CH_3(CH_2)_4OH\).

Step by step solution

01

Define functional groups

A functional group is an atom or a group of atoms within a molecule that is responsible for the molecule's characteristic chemical reactions. Functional groups determine the chemical properties of a compound and are used to classify organic molecules with similar reactivities.
02

Identify the functional group of an alcohol

The functional group that characterizes an alcohol is the hydroxyl group (-OH). The hydroxyl group consists of an oxygen atom bonded to a hydrogen atom, and it's responsible for the chemical properties exhibited by alcohols.
03

Write the structural formula for 1-pentanol

To write the structural formula for 1-pentanol, we first need to know the structure of its parent compound, pentane, which consists of five carbon atoms bound together in a chain. Pentane's complete structural formula is \(CH_3CH_2CH_2CH_2CH_3\). To form 1-pentanol, we need to replace one hydrogen atom of the first carbon atom with a hydroxyl group (-OH). Hence, the structural formula for 1-pentanol will be \(CH_3CH_2CH_2CH_2CH_2OH\), or more commonly represented as \(CH_3(CH_2)_4OH\).

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