ATTN: answers to the below questions are due at the start of your second meeting; these answers should be part of your pre-lab write-up. There will be a quiz in lecture on Wednesday 1/14/2004. Please make sure tha that arrive on time since the quiz will be administered in the beginning of the lecture.

1. Referring to step 2, answer the following questions:

a. In the initial step, phenol and sodium hydroxide are dissolved in methanol. Show pertinent equations. Can methanol be replaced by water as solvent?

b. What is the ratio of phenol to formaldehyde used in this reaction?

c. Why is TLC used in this reaction?

d. Why is a solvent mixture used for the TLC and not hexane alone?

e. The crude product is recrystallized from hexane. What do you expect to observe?

2. Referring to step 3a, answer the following questions:

a. CeCl₃*7H₂O is pale yellow while the product is orange-brown in color. Explain briefly.

b. Provide a balanced equation of the reaction of CeCl₃ with ammonia and hydrogen peroxide.

c. Why is it important to add the 30% hydrogen peroxide solution slowly?

d. How many grams of the product do you expect for this reaction assuming a 90% yield and the quantities given in the reader? Show calculations.

e. A student obtained a total yield of 11.5 g for the reaction. Which conclusion can he draw about the purity of his product? Can he continue with step 3b?

3. There are various forms of chirality known in chemistry. Give three different examples for chirality and explain briefly why these molecules are chiral.

4. Find two examples (other than the ones mentioned in the reader) in the literature where enantiomers have different properties e.g. odor, pharmaceutical activity. Provide references with your examples.