MCAT Question A Day - 2/12/14 - Answer!

Infrared spectroscopy can generally be used to distinguish between

A. alcohols and ketones.

B. enantiomers.

C. cis-trans isomers.

D. conformers.

The correct answer is (A). The infrared spectrum of an organic molecule gives the most information about its structure. Each functional group generally has a range of characteristic absorption frequencies: Carbonyl bonds in aldehydes and ketones absorb at about 1700 cm^-1, while —OH groups absorb at much higher energies of approximately 3300 cm^-1.

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