Chapter 14, Problem 14.1E

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

The principal structural difference between an aldehyde and a ketone is to be stated.

Concept introduction:

A carbonyl group has a carbon atom that is bonded to an oxygen atom through a double bond and single bonded to two other carbon atoms respectively.

Aldehydes and ketones contain carbonyl functional group in their parent chain and are named by adding suffix –al and –one to the name of the parent alkane.

Answer to Problem 14.1E

The structural formula of an aldehyde is $\text{R}-\text{CO}-\text{H}$.

The structural formula of a ketone is $\text{R}-\text{CO}-\text{R}$.

Explanation of Solution

An aldehyde consists of a carbonyl group that is single bonded to minimum one hydrogen atom, whereas a ketone consists of a carbonyl group that is single bonded to two carbon atoms. The structure difference between an aldehyde and a ketone is shown below.

Figure 1

Conclusion

The structure difference between an aldehyde and a ketone is shown in Figure 1.