Question

Give one chemical test to distinguish between the following pair of compounds: Acetone and phenol.

Answer 1

Acetone, when heated with NaOH/I₂, gives a yellow crystal of iodoform.

\[\ce{\underset{\text{Acetone}}{CH_3COCH_3} + 3I_2 + 4NaOH ->  \underset{\text{Iodoform}}{CHI_3 v} + CH_3COONa + 3NaI + 3H_2O}\]

Phenol does not give this test.