Student practical C10.

3
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date ......................

Comparing the reactions of alcohols

Specification references
• C7.2.3 Alcohols

Aims
In this activity you will look at three important reactions of alcohols: combustion, reaction with sodium,
and reaction with an oxidising agent. You will record your observations and analyse the results. You
will also link your new knowledge to topics you have met earlier.

Learning outcomes
After completing this activity, you should be able to:
• describe the reactions of alcohols, including using word equations
• explain the relationship between ethanol and ethanoic acid
• explain why solutions of ethanol have a pH of 7
• describe complete combustion reactions of a range of alcohols using balanced symbol equations
• outline an investigation to determine the relative energy transferred to the surroundings by the
combustion of different alcohols
• describe what is formed in the reaction of alcohols with sodium and when alcohols are oxidised
• describe how ethanol is manufactured
• describe some uses of alcohols.

Task
You will see what happens when alcohols are added to water, and three important reactions of alcohols:
combustion, reaction with sodium, and reaction with an oxidising agent.

Safety

Wear safety glasses

Ethanol is highly flammable and harmful – keep away from naked flames

Potassium dichromate(VI) is an irritant and health hazard – do not pour out

of the boiling tube

Sodium is highly flammable and corrosive [teacher demo only]

1. Addition of water
Place about 2cm3 water in a test tube.
Carefully add about 0.5 cm3 ethanol and gently shake.
Record your observations.

Add 2-3 drops universal indicator and record your observations.

2. Combustion
Place a small tuft of ceramic wool in the bottom on an evaporating basin.
Add about 8 drops ethanol. Replace the lid on the ethanol bottle and move it right
away.
Use a lit splint to ignite the ethanol.
Record your observations.

3. Reaction with sodium DEMO

Place about 5 cm3 ethanol in a clean evaporating basin.
Add a small piece of sodium.
Record your observations.

4. Reaction with an oxidising agent

Prepare a hot water bath by adding about 100 cm3 hot water from the kettle to a 250 cm3 beaker.
Add 6-7 drops of ethanol to the potassium dichromate (VI) solution in the boiling tube. Replace the
cork.
Place the test tube in the hot water bath.
Record your observations.

Questions
1. Addition of water

a What do your observations tell you about the solubility of alcohols in water?

(1 mark)

b Why do you think ethanol is a useful solvent?

(1 mark)

© Oxford University Press 2016 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 2
 c Suggest why solutions of alcohols are neutral.

(1 mark)

2 Combustion
a Alcohols burn in air to produce carbon dioxide and water. Write balanced
equations for the combustion of ethanol.

(3 marks)

b Explain why ethanol is a good fuel.

(1 mark)

3 Reaction with sodium

a Alcohols produce a gas when they react with sodium. What gas is produced?

(1 mark)

b As the sodium dissolves in ethanol, sodium ethoxide (CH3CH2ONa) is produced. Predict the
name and formula of the compound formed when methanol reacts with sodium.

(2 marks)

c Write a word equation for the reaction of sodium with methanol.

(1 mark)

4 Reaction with an oxidising agent

Potassium dichromate is an oxidising agent.
a What suggests that a reaction occurred between an alcohol and potassium dichromate?

(1 mark)

b An alcohol is oxidised to the corresponding carboxylic acid. Give the name and formula of
the carboxylic acid formed when each of these reactions take place:
i Methanol is oxidised.

(1 mark)

ii Ethanol is oxidised

(1 mark)

© Oxford University Press 2016 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 3
 iii Propanol is oxidised

(1 mark)

c i Wine contains ethanol. Explain why wine turns sour when left in the air
for a few days.

(2 marks)

ii Write a word equation for this reaction.

(1 mark)

d i Draw the displayed formula of butanol and circle the functional group. (1 mark)

ii Draw the displayed formula of butanoic acid and circle the functional group. (1 mark)

iii What type of reaction occurs when butanol is converted to butanoic acid?

(1 mark)

Student follow-up
1 Methanol and ethanol are both used as fuels. You are provided with the
following apparatus and two spirit burners, one containing methanol and the
other containing ethanol.

© Oxford University Press 2016 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 4
 Describe an experiment you could carry out to find out which alcohol releases
more energy per gram when it is burnt.

(6 marks)

2 Aqueous solutions of ethanol can be made by the fermentation of sugar solutions using yeast.
a Balance the equation for this reaction:
C6H12O6 → __CO2 + __C2H5OH

(1 mark)

b Why do you think the optimum temperature for this reaction is 37 °C?

(1 mark)

c Give two advantages and two disadvantages of using fermentation to

produce ethanol.

(4 marks)

d Give two uses of ethanol.

(2 marks)

3 In industry ethanol is produced by the reaction of ethene and steam at 300 °C and
60 atmospheres pressure using a catalyst.
The equation for the reaction is:
C2H4(g) + H2O(g) → C2H5OH(g)

a If 200 cm3 ethene react with excess steam, what volume of ethanol gas
will be made?
(2 marks)

b How does the catalyst work?

© Oxford University Press 2016 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 5