Alcohols contain the hydroxyl (–OH) functional group, which is a poor leaving group. This tutorial discusses reactions that convert hydroxyl groups to good leaving groups so that they can be used in substitution and elimination reactions (Runtime = 21:13)
Student Learning Outcomes
After viewing this tutorial and practicing problems from this website and your textbook, you should be able to:
• Understand the mechanisms of alcohol substitution and elimination reactions.
• Use sulfonate esters to turn hydroxyl groups into good leaving groups.
• Understand the various ways to convert an alcohol (ROH) to a haloalkane (RX).
• Predict the major and minor products of alcohol elimination and substitution reactions.
Practice Problems
Here are some problems to get you started. You should first try each on a piece of paper. Then, place your cursor over the graphic and click on right arrow that appears to see the answer. The right and left arrows allow you to move back and forth between problems. Please note that these are not the only types of problems/questions that exist on this topic. Refer to your textbook and any problems your instructor provides you for more practice with this subject.
