Isopropyl acetate is best described as which type of compound?

Isopropyl acetate is best described as which type of compound?

• A. An ester
• B. A ketone
• C. An ether
• D. An alcohol

Answer: (A)

Identifying the ester functional group is what this item tests. Isopropyl acetate has a carbonyl carbon that is double-bonded to oxygen and single-bonded to an alkoxy group (an oxygen attached to an isopropyl moiety). This arrangement, R-CO-O-R', is the defining feature of an ester. In this molecule, the acetyl portion (CH3-CO-) is bonded to an oxygen that connects to the isopropyl group (O-CH(CH3)2). A ketone would have the carbonyl attached to two carbon groups with no adjacent O; an ether is simply an R-O-R' linkage with no carbonyl; an alcohol contains a free -OH group. So the best description is an ester.

Identifying the ester functional group is what this item tests. Isopropyl acetate has a carbonyl carbon that is double-bonded to oxygen and single-bonded to an alkoxy group (an oxygen attached to an isopropyl moiety). This arrangement, R-CO-O-R', is the defining feature of an ester. In this molecule, the acetyl portion (CH3-CO-) is bonded to an oxygen that connects to the isopropyl group (O-CH(CH3)2). A ketone would have the carbonyl attached to two carbon groups with no adjacent O; an ether is simply an R-O-R' linkage with no carbonyl; an alcohol contains a free -OH group. So the best description is an ester.