Question

Which of the following alcohol is most soluble in water -
(a) Butanol (b) Propanol
(c) Pentanol (d) Hexanol

Answer 1

The alcohol which is most soluble in water is

(a)Butanol.

• By the concept of solubility in alcohol, the alcohol methanol is most soluble in water, this is because the solubility decreases as the chain of the carbon group increases.
• Ethanol and propanol are miscible that is they form a homogenous mixture when added together.
• The solubility of butanol is 0.112 and pentanol is 0.035 hence butanol will be more soluble.

Answer 2

(b) propanal is most soluble in the water

Explanation:

• Because the lower alcohols are very soluble in water, propanol is the most soluble.

• Water forms H-bonds with itself due to the presence of the -OH group in alcohols, and molecular association occurs, causing an increase in the boiling point of the corresponding alcohols due to the increase in the number of carbon atoms, and thus high temperatures are required to break this association of bonds, increasing solubility in water. The amount of hydrogen bonding in alcohols is determined by the number of carbon atoms in the chain and occurs as indicated below.
• In the above following option, propanal is the only alcohol that  is misicible in the water all others are have a certain level of solubility