medium · MCAT chem-phys

An alpha carbon in a carbonyl compound is unusually acidic because the resulting enolate ion is stabilized by resonance.

If a student reacts propanal with dilute base, the first step of the Aldol reaction involves which of the following?

  1. Deprotonation of the alpha carbon to form a nucleophilic enolate.
  2. Protonation of the carbonyl oxygen to increase electrophilicity.
  3. Deprotonation of the terminal methyl group to form a carbanion.
  4. Nucleophilic attack of the base on the carbonyl carbon.

Sign up free to see the explanation and track your rank →

More MCAT chem-phys practice

KomFi: Test Prep Made Easy

KomFi: Test Prep Made Easy — free adaptive practice for GMAT, GRE, SAT, ACT, National Real Estate Exam, Investment Banking, and finance with full explanations.

KomFi Academy is free GMAT prep and personalized GMAT help built as a training platform: 84,500+ practice questions, 28,500+ flashcards, on-demand video lectures, podcasts, and 4K slide decks. Flagship tracks: Free GMAT Prep, Free GMAT Resources, National Real Estate Exam Prep, Investment Banking Prep, Finance Prep, GRE, SAT, ACT, LSAT, MCAT, Financial Accounting, Private Equity, Private Credit, and Quantitative Finance.

Free GMAT Prep & Personalized GMAT Help

What's inside

Topics

View pricing · Read testimonials