BLANCO, Chris Andrie VET M1O

LABORATORY ACTIVITY 2
HYDROCARBONS

QUALITATIVE TESTS FOR FUNCTIONAL GROUPS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
 Apply the nomenclature of simple hydrocarbons to given 2D and 3D structures.
 Interpret the core formula types for organic compounds.
 Decide the appropriate chemical formula type to use for a given hydrocarbon.
 Describe how the properties of hydrocarbons vary depending on molecular size.
 Give examples of functional groups of organic compounds and their reactions.
 Determine the presence of specific functional groups by carrying out simple qualitative chemical tests
thru a virtual lab simulation.

PART B.
(FOR ALL STUDENTS)

Procedure
1. Access the virtual lab simulations via OLabs.
2. Proceed to the PROCEDURE tab and read the procedures for the tests for functional groups beginning
with the tests for alcoholic groups.
3. Proceed to the SIMULATION tab and perform all available tests for all functional groups by following
the steps in the simulation.
4. Observe and record the results of each test.
5. Answer the laboratory guide questions provided. Make sure you cite your references.

VIRTUAL LAB SIMULATION ON TESTS FOR FUNCTIONAL GROUPS

Access Link: http://amrita.olabs.edu.in/?sub=73&brch=8&sim=141&cnt=4

FUNCTIONAL GROUP QUALITATIVE TEST OBSERVED RESULT INFERENCE

Alcohol Sodium metal Test Brisk effervescence, The rapid effervescence
bubble-formation. is caused by the
progression of hydrogen
gas, which indicates the
presence of an alcoholic
group.
Ester Test Fruity smell There is an alcoholic
group present.
Ceric Ammonium Nitrate Pinkish or Reddish There is an alcoholic
Test appearance group present.
Acetyl Chloride Test Formation of White There is an alcoholic
BLANCO, Chris Andrie VET M1O

Fumes group present.

Primary, Secondary, Lucas Test Immediate Cloudiness There is a presence of a
Tertiary Alcohols tertiary alcohol.
Cloudiness within five There is a presence of a
minutes secondary alcohol.
Cloudiness upon heating There is a presence of a
primary alcohol.
Phenols Litmus Test Blue litmus paper There is a presence of a
becomes red. phenolic group.
Ferric Chloride Test Purple or Violet color There is a presence of a
phenolic group.
Liebermann’s Test Sodium Nitrate Test: There is a presence of a
May be Deep Blue or phenolic group.
Green
Distilled Water Test:
Reddish
Sodium Hydroxide Test:
Deep Blue or Green
Phthalein Dye Test Pink coloration There is a presence of a
phenolic group.
Aldehydes Schiff’s Test Pink coloration The presence of the
Tollen’s Test Silver shining mirror aldehydic group has
Fehling’s Test Formation of red been revealed.
precipitate
Ketones m-Dinitrobenzene Test Fading Violet Color The presence of the
Sodium Nitroprusside Red coloration ketonic group has been
Test revealed.
Carboxylic Acids Litmus Test Blue to red litmus paper The presence of the
Sodium Hydrogen Effervescence carboxylic group has
Carbonate Test been revealed.
Ester Test Fruity smell
Amines Solubility Test In diluted HCl, the The compound could be
compound is soluble. an amine.
Litmus Test Red to blue litmus
Carbylamines Test Foul smell Primary amine is
present.
Azo-dye Test Reddish or Orange Dye The presence of aromatic
primary amine has been
established.
Nitrous Acid Test Nitrogen gas bubbles Primary aliphatic amine
Primary, Secondary, is present.
Tertiary Amines Layer of yellow oils Secondary amine is
present.
No change Tertiary amine is
BLANCO, Chris Andrie VET M1O

present.
Hinsberg Test No precipitate or Clear Presence of primary
solution amine.
Precipitate is formed Presence of secondary
amine.
Precipitate is formed Presence of tertiary
amine.

Documentation (Screenshots of Virtual Lab Simulations)

BLANCO, Chris Andrie VET M1O
BLANCO, Chris Andrie VET M1O
BLANCO, Chris Andrie VET M1O

Guide Questions
1. How can a functional group affect the properties of an organic compound? Cite specific examples.
A functional group in organic chemistry is a specific group of atoms or bonds within a
compound that is responsible for the compound's characteristic chemical reactions. Regardless of the
compound in which it is found, the same functional group will behave similarly by undergoing similar
reactions. Functional groups are also important in organic compound nomenclature; combining the
names of the functional groups with the names of the parent alkanes allows compounds to be
distinguished.
Covalent bonds connect the atoms of a functional group and the rest of the compound. The
first carbon atom to attach to the functional group is known as the alpha carbon, the second as the
beta carbon, the third as the gamma carbon, and so on. A functional group can also be classified as
primary, secondary, or tertiary depending on whether it is attached to one, two, or three carbon
atoms.

2. What are the different qualitative tests presented in the virtual lab simulation? Indicate the functional
groups detected by each qualitative test and their positive results.

Qualitative Test Functional Group Positive Reaction

Sodium metal test Alcohols Bubble Formation
Ester Test Alcohols Fruity Smell
Carboxylic Acids
Ceric Ammonium Nitrate Test Alcohols Reddish appearance
Acetyl Chloride Test Alcohols White fumes
Lucas Test Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Cloudiness
Alcohols
Litmus Test Phenols Blue to red litmus paper
Carboxylic Acids Blue to red litmus paper
Amines Red to blue litmus paper
Ferric Chloride Test Phenols Purplish color
Liebermann Test Phenols Deep blue / Green / Red
BLANCO, Chris Andrie VET M1O

Phthalein Dye Test Phenols Pink color

Schiff’s Test Aldehydes Pink coloration
Tollen’s Test Aldehydes Silver shining mirror
Fehling’s Test Aldehydes Formation of red precipitate
m-Dinitrobenzene Test Ketones Fading Violet Color
Sodium Nitroprusside Test Ketones Red coloration
Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate Test Carboxylic Acids Effervescence
Solubility Test Amines In diluted HCl, the compound is
soluble.
Carbylamines Test Amines Foul smell
Azo-dye Test Amines Reddish or Orange Dye
Nitrous Acid Test Amines Nitrogen gas bubbles / Yellow
Oil
Hinsberg Test Amines Precipitation

3. What are the different reagents used in each qualitative test? Indicate their hazard/MSDS symbols.
Qualitative Test Functional Group Reagent Used MSDS Symbols
Sodium metal test Alcohols Calcium Sulfate
(Anhydrous)

Ester Test Alcohols Sodium

Hydroxide

Carboxylic Acids Concentrated

Sulfuric Acid

Ceric Ammonium Alcohols Ceric

Nitrate Test Ammonium
Nitrate

Acetyl Chloride Alcohols Acetyl Chloride

Test
BLANCO, Chris Andrie VET M1O

Ammonium
Hydroxide

Lucas Test Primary, Lucas Reagent

Secondary, and
Tertiary Alcohols

Litmus Test Phenols N/A

Carboxylic Acids N/A
Amines N/A
Ferric Chloride Test Phenols N/A
Liebermann Test Phenols Concentrated
Sulfuric Acid

Sodium
Hydroxide

Phthalein Dye Test Phenols Phthalic

anhydride

Concentrated
Sulfuric Acid

Schiff’s Test Aldehydes Schiff’s

Reagent

Tollen’s Test Aldehydes Silver Nitrate

BLANCO, Chris Andrie VET M1O

Diluted Sodium
Hydroxide

Diluted
Ammonia
Solution

Fehling’s Test Aldehydes Fehling’s

Solution A and
B

A. B.
m-Dinitrobenzene Ketones m-
Test Dinitrobenzene

Diluted Sodium
Hydroxide

Sodium Ketones Sodium

Nitroprusside Test Nitroprusside

Sodium
Hydroxide

Sodium Hydrogen Carboxylic Acids Sodium

Carbonate Test Bicarbonate

Solubility Test Amines Diluted Hcl

BLANCO, Chris Andrie VET M1O

Carbylamines Test Amines Ethanol

Chloroform

Azo-dye Test Amines Hydrochloric

Acid

Diluted Sodium
Hydroxide

Nitrous Acid Test Primary, Concentrated

Secondary, Hcl
Tertiary Amines

Hinsberg Test Primary, 25% NaOH

Secondary,
Tertiary Amines

Benzene
Sulphonyl
Chloride

Concentrated
Hcl

4. What risks do possibly occur by not performing the qualitative tests in duplicate?
It is important to repeat qualitative tests in order to eliminate the possibility of a rare type of error
that has nothing to do with analytical imprecision or within-subject variation, and for this reason,
paradoxically, it may be most important to repeat tests with the highest sensitivity and/or specificity.
BLANCO, Chris Andrie VET M1O

At most times, qualitative tests are repeated in triplicate. This is known as the technical or
specialized replicate, and it is performed in triplicate because three is the smallest number required to
have a standard deviation. This ensures that your technique produces the same results every time you
test the same sample.
But the bottom-line reason for performing tests repeatedly is to avoid systematic and random
errors brought about any discrepancies in the materials used in the process.

References:
https://chem.libretexts.org/Courses/Brevard_College/CHE_201%3A_Organic_Chemistry_I/
02%3A_Alkanes_and_Cycloalkanes/2.03%3A_Condensed_Structural_and_Skeletal_Formulas
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Organic/hydrocarbon.html

Monach P. A. (2012). Repeating tests: different roles in research studies and clinical medicine. Biomarkers in
medicine, 6(5), 691–703. https://doi.org/10.2217/bmm.12.57