ALCOHOL SOLUBILITY TEST

Materials:

Experiment Reagents Material and Equipments

Water 6 test tubes
Ethanol Droppers
2-Propanol Test tube rack
Alcohol/Phenol Solubility Test
2-methyl-2-propanol Water-based food color
Cyclohexanol
Salicylic acid

Methods:

Alcohols are soluble in water. This is due to the hydroxyl group in the alcohol which is able to form
hydrogen bonds with water molecules. Alcohols with a smaller hydrocarbon chain are very soluble. As the length of
the hydrocarbon chain increases, the solubility in water decreases.

In testing the solubility of Alcohols, six clean test tubes were prepared in which a small quantity of water
was put in a tube and drops of different Alcohols (Ethanol, 2-Propanol, 2-methyl-2-Propanol, Cyclohexanol, and
Salicylic Acid) was added to the five test tubes. Drops of red food color were added to each Alcohol to test their
solubility. Each test tube was shake in order to mixed the samples. The Alcohols solubility was observed and noted.
The observation was further recorded in the report template.

Results and Discussion:

A. Alcohol/Phenol Solubility Test

Alcohol/Phenol Observation Discussion Overall Reaction

The red food dye is a polar Reactants:

When a drop of red food
color was put in the ethanol.
Ethanol
They immediately mixed
together
2-propanol When drops of red food dye
were added to the reagent, it
was observed that the dye
was miscible with the
reagent
molecule that will mixed to the Ethanol (C₂H₅OH)
water, ethanol is also a polar or Water (H₂0)
hydrophilic (water- loving) due to
the presence of the terminal Product:
hydroxyl group. If two kinds of Ethanol (C₂H₅OH)
molecules are added together that
are both polar molecules, they will C₂H₅OH(l) + H₂0 (l)
mix. They are miscible. →C₂H₅OH(aq)
2-propanol, known as Isopropyl Reactant:
alcohol, has a formula of 2-propanol (CH3)2CHOH
(CH3)2CHOH in which it consists
of 3-carbon with the OH group in Product:
the middle carbon. It was observed red dyed isopropyl alcohol
that 2-propanol was easily mixed
with the red dye because it belongs 2-propanol + red food dye
to short chain alcohols. Short chain = red dyed isopropyl
alcohols are alcohols with smaller alcohol
hydrocarbon chain and are likely
to be very soluble. Since 2-
propanol is a small chain alcohol,

When drops of red food dye
were added to the reagent, it
was observed that the dye
2-methyl-2-propano
was miscible with the
reagent.
When drops of red food dye
were added, it didn’t mix
and stayed suspended in the
bottom part of the test tube.
Cyclohexanol
There is also some
constituent of the red food
dye that floats on the top of
cyclohexanol.
When drops of red food dye
Salicylic acid were added, it immediately
mixed with the sample.
Conclusion:
Alcohols are compounds that hold at least one hydroxyl functional group attached to a carbon atom. In the
conducted experiment, alcohols like ethanol, 2-propanol, 2-methyl-2-propanol, and salicylic acid were observed to
be miscible with the red dye unlike cyclohexanol. With regards to their chemical structure, ethanol, 2-propanol, 2-
methyl-2-propanol, and salicylic acid belong to short chain alcohols. When the hydrocarbon chain is short, the
alcohol is soluble in any solvent. On the other hand, cyclohexanol has longer hydrocarbon chain supported our
observation. As the hydrocarbon chain becomes longer, the solubility of alcohol gradually decreases until it becomes
essentially insoluble.
it is considered also a secondary
alcohol in which its carbon with
the -OH group attached is linked
directly to two alkyl groups that
may be the same or different.
2-methyl-2-propanol, known as
tert-butyl alcohol having a formula
of (CH3)3COH is also a 3-carbon
chain, with the OH group and a Reactant:
methyl group on the middle C4H10O
carbon. It was also seen that it was
miscible to the red dye because it Product:
is also a short chain alcohol that is red dyed tert-butyl alcohol
capable of solubility. But
compared to the rest of the 2-methyl-2-propanol + red
reagents, 2-methyl-2-propanol’s food dye = red dyed tert-
alkyl group is branched and have butyl alcohol
less surface area, thus, it is more
soluble. Tert-butyl alcohol is the
simplest tertiary alcohol.
Cyclohexanol is immiscible. It has
a large non-polar part which forms
strong forces that is hard to break
Reactant:
when forming a hydrogen bond
Cyclohexanol (CH2)5CHOH)
with a polar molecule. Another
factor is that it has a large
No reaction
hydrocarbon chains which causes
its solubility to decrease.
Reactant:
Salicyclic Acid (C7H6O3)
As observed, salicyclic acid is
miscible in red food dye. But in
Product:
water, it is not readily soluble. It
Red dye Salicyclic Acid
means that the solubility of this
Alcohol is dependent on the pH
Salicyclic Acid + red dye =
level of the solvent.
red dyed salicylic acid