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Class XII · Chemistry

Organic Compounds Containing Oxygen: NEET MCQ practice

470 practice questions on Organic Compounds Containing Oxygen, each with an explanation. Practise them chapter by chapter in the GyaanLoop app.

470

Practice questions

186

Easy

273

Medium

11

Hard

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What Organic Compounds Containing Oxygen covers

Topics in the NEET (UG) 2026–27 syllabus for this chapter.

  • Alcohols, phenols and ethers- preparation, properties, reactions and uses
  • Identification of primary, secondary, tertiary alcohols, mechanism of dehydration
  • Acidic nature of phenol, electrophilic substitution reactions- halogenation, nitration, sulphonation, Reimer-Tiemann reaction
  • Aldehydes and ketones- nature of carbonyl group, preparation, properties, nucleophilic addition reactions
  • Grignard reagent, oxidation and reduction, acidity of alpha-hydrogen, aldol condensation, Cannizzaro reaction
  • Wolf-Kishner and Clemmensen reduction, Haloform reaction
  • Carboxylic acids- acidic strength and factors affecting it

Sample questions on Organic Compounds Containing Oxygen

Try each one, then open the answer and explanation.

Question 1 · Practice question

When aryl halide is heated with 6-8% NaOH solution ,at 623 K under 300 atm pressure we get:

  1. A.Phenol
  2. B.Benzyl ether
  3. C.Ethyl alcohol
  4. D.Cumene
Show answer

Answer: A. Phenol

In the industrial Dow's process, heating chlorobenzene (an aryl halide) with dilute NaOH under high temperature and pressure displaces chloride by hydroxyl group to form phenol after acidification. The other options are incorrect because benzyl ether would require a benzyl halide, ethyl alcohol comes from alkyl halides under milder conditions, and cumene is prepared from benzene and propene via the cumene process.

Question 2 · Practice question

Identify the alcohol or phenol from the following which is most soluble in water.

  1. A.CH₃ – OH
  2. B.CH(CH₃)₂CH₂ O-H
  3. C.CH₃ (CH₂)₂CH₂OH
  4. D.C₆H₅OH
Show answer

Answer: A. CH₃ – OH

Methanol (CH₃–OH) is the smallest alcohol and is completely miscible with water due to its strong hydrogen bonding and minimal hydrophobic part. As the alkyl chain length increases (options B and C) or an aromatic ring is present (option D), solubility in water decreases significantly because the non‑polar hydrocarbon portion dominates. Thus, methanol is the most soluble.

Question 3 · Practice question

Isopropyl alcohol on oxidation forms:

  1. A.Acetone
  2. B.Ether
  3. C.Acetaldehyde
  4. D.Methane
Show answer

Answer: A. Acetone

Isopropyl alcohol is a secondary alcohol, and secondary alcohols upon oxidation produce ketones; here it forms acetone (CH3–CO–CH3). The tempting wrong option is acetaldehyde, which students may choose if they confuse primary and secondary alcohol oxidation outcomes.

Question 4 · Practice question

Which catalyst is used in Fischer-Speier esterification?

  1. A.Concentrated H₂SO₄
  2. B.Dry HCl gas
  3. C.Concentrated HNO₃
  4. D.Pyridine
Show answer

Answer: A. Concentrated H₂SO₄

Concentrated sulfuric acid is the standard catalyst in Fischer-Speier esterification because it protonates the carbonyl oxygen, making the carboxylic acid more electrophilic for nucleophilic attack by the alcohol. Dry HCl gas is occasionally used in specific cases, but sulfuric acid is the typical choice; nitric acid is oxidizing and pyridine is basic, so they are not suitable for this acid-catalyzed reaction.

Question 5 · Practice question

Formic acid and acetic acid are distinguished by reaction with

  1. A.sodium ethoxide
  2. B.sodium
  3. C.HgCl₂
  4. D.2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine
Show answer

Answer: C. HgCl₂

Formic acid has an aldehyde-like structure (HCOOH) and acts as a reducing agent, reducing HgCl₂ to Hg₂Cl₂ (white) or Hg (silvery deposit). Acetic acid (CH₃COOH) lacks this reducing property and thus gives no such reaction. Sodium or sodium ethoxide reacts with both acids similarly, and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine is used for aldehydes/ketones, not for distinguishing between these two acids.

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