MDCAT Chemistry chapter 16: Chemistry · Alcohols and phenols MCQs with answers

By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026

63 exam-style questions on Chemistry · Alcohols and phenols, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.

63 questions · 2 topics · 10 per test

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What chapter 16 covers

Ten Chemistry · Alcohols and phenols questions with answers

Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.

1. Phenol reacts with ethanoyl chloride, CH3COCl, at room temperature. The products are

  1. A
    phenyl ethanoate and water
  2. B
    chlorobenzene and ethanoic acid
  3. C
    phenyl ethanoate and HCl
  4. D
    ethyl benzoate and HCl
Show answer

Answer: C. The O–H hydrogen of phenol and the Cl of the acid chloride leave together as HCl, and the phenoxy group joins the acyl group: C6H5OH + CH3COCl → CH3COOC6H5 + HCl. The C–O bond of phenol is not broken, so chlorobenzene does not form.

2. A bottle of colourless phenol crystals gradually turns pink after it has been opened several times. The colour is caused by

  1. A
    absorption of carbon dioxide from air
  2. B
    slow reduction of phenol to benzene
  3. C
    slow oxidation of phenol by air
  4. D
    polymerisation of phenol into Bakelite
Show answer

Answer: C. Phenol is easily oxidised, and on exposure to air and light it slowly forms coloured oxidation products of the quinone type. Bakelite forms only when phenol is heated with methanal, and reducing phenol to benzene needs hot zinc dust.

3. Each alkene is absorbed in concentrated sulphuric acid and the product is then boiled with water. Which alkene gives a primary alcohol?

  1. A
    propene, CH3CH=CH2
  2. B
    but-1-ene, CH2=CHCH2CH3
  3. C
    2-methylpropene, (CH3)2C=CH2
  4. D
    ethene, CH2=CH2
Show answer

Answer: D. H+ adds to the CH2= end (Markovnikov's rule), so the –OSO3H group, and later the –OH, goes to the more substituted carbon: propene and but-1-ene give secondary alcohols and 2-methylpropene a tertiary one. Only ethene, whose two carbons are alike, gives a primary alcohol.

4. Which test distinguishes ethanol from methanol?

  1. A
    adding sodium metal
  2. B
    warming with iodine and NaOH
  3. C
    warming with acidified K2Cr2O7
  4. D
    shaking with Lucas reagent
Show answer

Answer: B. Ethanol has a CH3 group on the carbon bearing –OH, so it gives yellow iodoform; methanol does not. Both give hydrogen with sodium, both are oxidised by dichromate, and as primary alcohols neither clouds Lucas reagent at room temperature.

5. Like a tertiary alcohol, phenol has no hydrogen on the carbon bearing its –OH group. When phenol is treated with chromic acid (acidified K2Cr2O7), it gives

  1. A
    1,4-benzoquinone, a cyclic diketone
  2. B
    no product, as it has no H on the carbon bearing –OH
  3. C
    cyclohexanone, as a secondary alcohol would
  4. D
    benzene, by removal of the –OH group
Show answer

Answer: A. Phenol is far more easily oxidised than alcohols because its activated ring, not a C–H on the carbinol carbon, is attacked; chromic acid gives 1,4-benzoquinone, O=C6H4=O. The same ease of oxidation explains why phenol slowly darkens in air.

6. Picric acid, a yellow crystalline solid, is

  1. A
    2,4,6-trinitrotoluene
  2. B
    2,4,6-trinitrophenol
  3. C
    1,3,5-trinitrobenzene
  4. D
    2,4-dinitrophenol
Show answer

Answer: B. Picric acid is phenol carrying –NO2 groups at both ortho positions and the para position, C6H2(NO2)3OH. 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene is the explosive TNT, which has a CH3 group in place of the –OH.

7. Ethanol (Mr = 46) boils at 78 °C, but its isomer methoxymethane, CH3OCH3, boils at −24 °C. The reason is that ethanol molecules

  1. A
    are much heavier, so the London forces between them are stronger
  2. B
    have a permanent dipole, which methoxymethane molecules lack
  3. C
    are partly ionised in the liquid state, unlike methoxymethane
  4. D
    form hydrogen bonds with each other, which ether molecules cannot
Show answer

Answer: D. Both have the same Mr and both are polar, but only ethanol has an O–H group, so its molecules hydrogen bond to one another and need much more energy to separate. Methoxymethane has no hydrogen on oxygen.

8. Phenyl ethanoate, CH3COOC6H5, is best prepared from

  1. A
    phenol and ethanoyl chloride
  2. B
    benzoic acid and ethanol
  3. C
    ethanol and benzoyl chloride
  4. D
    benzyl alcohol and ethanoic acid
Show answer

Answer: A. In CH3CO–OC6H5 the acyl part comes from ethanoic acid and the –OC6H5 part from phenol, which is esterified with the reactive acid chloride rather than the acid itself. Benzoic acid or benzoyl chloride with ethanol gives ethyl benzoate, and benzyl alcohol gives benzyl ethanoate.

9. Ethanol is heated separately with HCl, HBr and HI to make the corresponding haloethanes. Which statement is correct?

  1. A
    HI reacts most readily; HCl needs anhydrous ZnCl2
  2. B
    HCl reacts most readily; HI needs anhydrous ZnCl2
  3. C
    HCl reacts most readily; no catalyst is needed with any of them
  4. D
    HBr reacts most readily; HCl needs anhydrous ZnCl2
Show answer

Answer: A. The H–X bond weakens from HCl to HI and I− is the best nucleophile, so the order of reactivity is HI > HBr > HCl. HCl reacts so slowly with primary and secondary alcohols that anhydrous ZnCl2 is added to help break the C–O bond.

10. Which alcohol turns Lucas reagent cloudy almost immediately at room temperature?

  1. A
    CH3CH2CH2CH2OH
  2. B
    CH3CH(OH)CH2CH3
  3. C
    (CH3)3COH
  4. D
    CH3OH
Show answer

Answer: C. A tertiary alcohol reacts fastest because it forms the most stable carbocation, so the insoluble alkyl chloride appears at once. A secondary alcohol such as butan-2-ol takes about five minutes, and primary alcohols stay clear at room temperature.

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Chemistry · Alcohols and phenols: questions students ask

How many Chemistry · Alcohols and phenols MCQs are there?

63, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 2 topics: Alcohols, Phenols and ethers. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.

Is the MDCAT Chemistry chapter 16 test free?

Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.

How is the chapter test marked?

The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.

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