Purpose
The main outcome of this experiment is to be able to use two qualitative tests on each compound to detect an alcohol in the compound and determine if it is a primary, secondary, or tertiary alcohol. One qualitative test consisted of the Jones test that reacts with the compound by the use of the Jones reagent made of a solution of potassium dichromate dissolved in sulfuric acid in order to oxidize primary and secondary alcohols. The other qualitative test was the Lucas Test that differentiates between the different alcohols and uses a Lucas reagent which is a mixture of concentrated hydrochloride and zinc chloride. The different compounds being tested on both qualitative tests are methanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, …show more content…
All knowns were run through both qualitative test of a Jones and Lucas test. An unknown was analyzed to determine if the qualitative test could determine whether the alcohol was a primary, secondary, or tertiary alcohol. The tests were just reactions done in a test tube with specific reagents. Close attention was put on the amount of time certain products formed and what products were formed from each reaction with the known and unknown compounds. The unknown was positive for the Jones test and Lucas. The positive Jones test suggested a primary or secondary alcohol. The positive Lucas test came from the formation of a second layer within two to three minutes therefore indicating a secondary alcohol. The experiment might have slight error specifically in the Lucas test for not having completely dry test tubes. Other errors came from the possible excess addition of reagents or compounds. Further experimentation must be done to eliminate error and confirm …show more content…
A negative Jones test only results from tertiary alcohols that give no reaction therefore no color change from the original orange-red solution of the reagent. The positive test suggests that the product was an oxidized alcohol that produced a product of a green-blue color. The negative Lucas test would imply the unknown alcohol to be a secondary or tertiary alcohol not primary because of the formation of a second layer in the product. The unknown cannot be primary because primary alcohols in a Lucas test would form no appreciable reaction after more than minutes of the reaction. The unknown could be secondary or tertiary based on the Lucas test, but because of the previous results from the Jones test that suggests the unknown cannot be tertiary because then no reaction would have occurred meaning a negative Jones test. Based on both tests the unknown alcohol could only be a secondary alcohol because the tertiary alcohol was eliminated by the result of the Jones testy and the primary alcohol possibility was eliminated by the negative Lucas