medium · MCAT chem-phys

In organic chemistry, which of the following best explains why an aldehyde is typically more reactive toward nucleophilic addition than a ketone?

  1. The aldehyde oxygen is more electronegative than the ketone carbonyl oxygen.
  2. Ketones possess an alpha-hydrogen that is more acidic than the aldehyde hydrogen.
  3. Aldehydes are less sterically hindered and have a more electrophilic carbonyl carbon.
  4. The aldehyde carbon is sp3 hybridized, whereas the ketone carbon is sp2 hybridized instead.

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