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What are the isomers of the molecule C4H8O and how can you distinguish between them?

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C4H8O can have several isomers, which can be categorized into two main groups: alcohols and ethers. Here are the isomers and how you can distinguish between them:1. Alcohols:   a  Butan-1-ol: CH3CH2CH2CH2OH   b  Butan-2-ol: CH3CH2CH OH CH3   c  2-Methylpropan-1-ol:  CH3 2CHCH2OH   d  2-Methylpropan-2-ol:  CH3 3COHTo distinguish between these alcohols, you can use the following methods:- Boiling point: Primary alcohols  like butan-1-ol and 2-methylpropan-1-ol  generally have higher boiling points than secondary alcohols  like butan-2-ol and 2-methylpropan-2-ol  due to stronger hydrogen bonding. Additionally, the boiling point of butan-1-ol will be higher than that of 2-methylpropan-1-ol due to the more extended carbon chain.  - Oxidation: Primary alcohols  butan-1-ol and 2-methylpropan-1-ol  can be oxidized to aldehydes and then to carboxylic acids, while secondary alcohols  butan-2-ol and 2-methylpropan-2-ol  can be oxidized to ketones. Tertiary alcohols  none in this case  cannot be oxidized under normal conditions.2. Ethers:   a  Diethyl ether: CH3CH2OCH2CH3   b  2-Methoxypropane: CH3OCH CH3 2To distinguish between these ethers, you can use the following methods:- Boiling point: Diethyl ether has a more extended carbon chain than 2-methoxypropane, which results in a higher boiling point for diethyl ether.- Reactivity: Ethers generally do not react with common oxidizing or reducing agents, unlike alcohols. However, ethers can react with strong acids like HI or HBr to form alkyl halides and alcohol. In this case, diethyl ether will form two different alkyl halides  ethyl iodide and ethyl bromide , while 2-methoxypropane will form isopropyl iodide or isopropyl bromide.In summary, you can distinguish between the isomers of C4H8O by analyzing their boiling points, reactivity, and oxidation behavior. Additionally, spectroscopic techniques like infrared  IR , nuclear magnetic resonance  NMR , and mass spectrometry  MS  can also be used to differentiate between these isomers.

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