Both acetaldehyde and acetone (individually) undergo which of the following reactions?
A. Iodoform Reaction
B. Cannizaro Reaction
C. Aldol Condensation
D. Tollen's Test
E. Clemmensen Reduction
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Solution

Chemistry ma’am · 3 steps

Test each reaction against both: what group does it need, and do both molecules have it?

1. What both have. Both CH₃CHO and CH₃COCH₃ have a CH₃CO⁻ group, so both have α-hydrogens and a carbonyl group. Only acetaldehyde has a hydrogen on the carbonyl carbon, which makes it easy to oxidise.

   Reaction	What it needs	Acetaldehyde	Acetone
   A. Iodoform	a CH₃CO⁻ group	yes	yes
   B. Cannizzaro	an aldehyde with no α-H	no, has 3 α-H	no, not an aldehyde
   C. Aldol	at least one α-H	yes	yes
   D. Tollens' test	an easily oxidised -CHO	yes, silver mirror	no, ketones are not oxidised
   E. Clemmensen	any C=O group	yes, gives ethane	yes, gives propane

2. Drop B and D. Cannizzaro fails for both, and Tollens' test works only for acetaldehyde. A, C and E work for both.
3. So. The reactions common to both are A, C and E, which is option (c).

The idea to keep. Check the needed group: iodoform needs CH₃CO⁻, aldol needs an α-H, Cannizzaro needs no α-H, and Tollens' needs an aldehyde. Clemmensen works on any carbonyl.

Answer from the NTA final answer key. Solution by PrepWiser.