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Multiple Choice
In the structure of (ethanol), if the carbon atom bonded to the hydroxyl group is circled, how many hydrogen atoms are directly attached to that carbon?
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1
Identify the carbon atom that is bonded to the hydroxyl group (-OH) in the ethanol molecule. This carbon is often called the "alpha carbon" or the carbon attached directly to the -OH group.
Recall the molecular structure of ethanol, which is CH3-CH2-OH. The carbon bonded to the hydroxyl group is the second carbon (CH2) in the chain.
Determine the number of bonds the carbon attached to the hydroxyl group forms. Carbon forms four bonds total. One bond is to the hydroxyl oxygen, one bond is to the adjacent carbon, and the remaining bonds are to hydrogen atoms.
Calculate the number of hydrogen atoms attached to this carbon by subtracting the bonds to other atoms from four. Since it is bonded to one carbon and one oxygen, it must have two hydrogens to complete its four bonds.
Conclude that the carbon bonded to the hydroxyl group in ethanol has two hydrogen atoms directly attached to it.