Propose structures for molecules that fit the following descri...

Question

Propose structures for molecules that fit the following descriptions:

(c) An aromatic compound that is also an ether, C₈H₁₀O

Accepted Answer

All right. Hi everyone. So this question says to select the molecule that is an aromatic ether with a formula of C nine H 12 0. And here we have four different answer choices. No. The first step in this case should be to verify the molecular formula of each compound and ensure that it is correct. Right. Recall the molecular formula is determined by counting how many of each type of atom are present in the compound itself. Now for this question, it's worth mentioning that Corbin's are not necessarily written in the structure. Instead all corners as well as open ends are considered to be carbon atoms. So in addition to counting all carbon atoms, each carbon atom has to have an appropriate number of hydrogens to ensure that it has the appropriate number of bonds. Right. So for example, the carbons on either end of the structure must have three hydrogens to ensure that it has the correct number of bonds and so on. So when I do that right, for option A, when I go ahead and I add together all carbon atoms, all hydrogen atoms and all oxygen atoms, I get a molecular formula of C nine H 12 0. And it just so happens that when I repeat this procedure for options, BC and D, namely counting all carbon, all hydrogen and all oxygen atoms. All four of my answer choices actually have a molecular formula of C nine H 12 0, right. So because all of them have the correct molecular formula, the question now is to determine which one of them is the aromatic ether. So now recall that an aromatic compound is an organic compound that contains an aromatic ring. Now, the most common aromatic ring in aromatic compounds is the benzene ring in which there are six carbon atoms arranged in a ring with three double bonds inside of the ring. Now because all four answer choices have a benzene ring, all of them are considered to be aromatic. So an aromatic ether is a compound that is aromatic and also contains an ether functional group. Now recall that ethers have a general formula of Ror. So that's one R group connected to an oxygen which is connected to a second R group. Now, an R group is an abbreviation for any oye or aero group. In this case, the benzene ring counts as an aero group because it is aromatic. So let me scroll up here to consider our answer choices. And what I want to point out here is that options A and C both contain a carbon because there is one carbon that has a double bond between itself and oxygen. So they're not going to be ethers. But let's differentiate what functional groups A and C happen to be. Right. If I consider option A, the carbon carbon has one hydrogen and the benzene ring attached to it, disregarding the carbon oxygen. Now because there is one hydrogen attached to the carbon carbon. Option. A here is an aromatic aldehyde. Now, on the other hand, if I consider the car bal in option C, that car bono carbon is connected to two different R groups because there are two other carbons attached to it. This means that compound C is a ketone. So I can eliminate both because they do not happen to be ethers. Now, option B on the other hand, as a hydroxy group attached to one of the carbons of the benzene ring, right? Recall that a hydroxy group refers to an O group, right? So here, the general formula of this functional group is going to be Roh and recall that Roh is the general formula of an alcohol, but this alcohol is unique because the art group is a benzene ring, right? So when you have an oh group attached to a benzene ring, you would not refer to it as an alcohol specifically, you would refer to it as a phenol. So it's a special type of alcohol. And lastly, we have option D because option D has one oxygen in between two carbon atoms and that oxygen has a single bond to both carbon atoms on the R groups on either side of it. So this means that option D is our answer, right? Not only does it contain an aromatic ring, namely the benzene, it also contains an ether and there you have it. So with that being said, thank you so very much for watching and I hope you found this helpful.

Propose structures for molecules that fit the following descriptions:
(c) An aromatic compound that is also an ether, C₈H₁₀O

Key Concepts

Aromatic Compounds

Ethers

Molecular Formula and Structure

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