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JEE Chemistry 2026 Question with Solution

From the following, how many compounds contain at least one secondary alcohol?

A missing figure showing multiple compound structures labeled likely with Roman numerals, required to identify which contain a secondary alcohol group.
  • A

    Three

  • B

    Four

  • C

    Five

  • D

    Two

Answer

Correct answer:B

Step-by-step solution

Standard Method

Given: The question asks how many of the given compounds contain at least one secondary alcohol.

Find: The total number of compounds having at least one secondary OH-OH group attached to a secondary carbon.

A secondary alcohol has the OH-OH group attached to a carbon bonded to two other carbon atoms.

On analyzing the given structures, compounds (II), (IV), (V) and (VI) contain at least one secondary OH-OH group.

Therefore, the total number of compounds containing at least one secondary alcohol is 44. The correct option is B.

Common mistakes

  • Counting every alcohol-containing compound without checking the type of carbon attached to the OH-OH group. This is wrong because only a secondary alcohol has the hydroxyl-bearing carbon bonded to two other carbons. Instead, inspect the carbon directly attached to OH-OH in each structure.

  • Classifying the alcohol based on the overall size or branching of the molecule rather than the hydroxyl-bearing carbon. This is wrong because primary, secondary, and tertiary are decided only by the carbon carrying the OH-OH group. Focus only on that local carbon environment.

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