Lesson 4.2.1

4.2.1 Alcohols Quiz: OCR Chemistry, Unit 3

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.2.1, Alcohols: 20 multiple choice questions for the OCR Chemistry (H432), Unit 3: Core organic chemistry, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. How many alkyl groups are attached to the carbon bearing the -OH group in a primary alcohol?

    • One or zero
    • Four
    • Three
    • Two

  2. Which intermolecular force allows ethanol to dissolve easily in water?

    • Permanent dipole-dipole
    • Ionic bonding
    • Hydrogen bonding
    • London forces

  3. Why do alcohols have lower volatility than alkanes of similar molecular mass?

    • Stronger hydrogen bonding
    • Weaker London forces
    • Higher molar mass
    • Stronger covalent bonds

  4. What product forms when a primary alcohol is oxidised by distillation with excess oxidising agent?

    • A ketone
    • A tertiary alcohol
    • An alkene
    • An aldehyde

  5. What product forms when a primary alcohol is heated under reflux with an oxidising agent?

    • An alkene
    • An aldehyde only
    • A carboxylic acid
    • A ketone

  6. What product forms when a secondary alcohol is oxidised?

    • An alkene
    • A ketone
    • An aldehyde
    • A carboxylic acid

  7. What missing bond prevents tertiary alcohols from being oxidised?

    • No C-C bond
    • No C-H bond
    • No C=O bond
    • No O-H bond

  8. What alkene forms when ethanol is heated with H3PO4 catalyst?

    • Ethyne
    • Ethene
    • Ethanal
    • Ethane

  9. What haloalkane forms when ethanol is heated with NaBr and H2SO4?

    • Iodoethane
    • 1,2-dibromoethane
    • Bromoethane
    • Chloroethane

  10. Which two substances are produced during the complete combustion of ethanol?

    • CO and H2O
    • CO and H2
    • CO2 and H2O
    • CO2 and H2

  11. What colour change is seen when acidified potassium dichromate oxidises a primary alcohol?

    • Orange to green
    • Colourless to purple
    • Green to orange
    • Yellow to colourless

  12. What mass of ethanol (Mr = 46) is 0.05 mol?

    • 0.92 g
    • 4.60 g
    • 23.0 g
    • 2.30 g

  13. Which technique prevents the further oxidation of a primary alcohol to a carboxylic acid?

    • Reflux
    • Recrystallisation
    • Distillation
    • Filtration

  14. What is the product when butan-2-ol is oxidised?

    • Butan-2-one oxide
    • Butanal
    • Butanone
    • Butanoic acid

  15. What organic product is formed when 2-methylpropan-2-ol reacts with acidified potassium dichromate(VI)?

    • 2-methylpropanoic acid
    • Methylpropanone
    • 2-methylpropanal
    • No reaction

  16. What functional group do all alcohols contain?

    • The -OH group
    • The -COOH group
    • The C-X group
    • The C=O group

  17. What type of alcohol is 2-methylbutan-2-ol?

    • Tertiary
    • Quaternary
    • Primary
    • Secondary

  18. Ethanol (46 g mol-1) is dehydrated to ethene (28 g mol-1). From 4.6 g of ethanol, what is the percentage yield if 2.0 g of ethene forms?

    • 43.5%
    • 71.4%
    • 140%
    • 87.0%

  19. Which property of oxygen makes the O-H bond in alcohols polar?

    • High electronegativity
    • Low electronegativity
    • Large ionic radius
    • High electron affinity

  20. What is the systematic name of the alcohol CH3CH(OH)CH3?

    • Propan-2-ol
    • Propan-1-ol
    • Propanone
    • Propanal

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