Question

Which isomerism is present in n-butyl, alcohol and isobutyl alcohol?
(A) Position
(B) Chain
(C) Optical
(D) Geometrical

Answer 1

Hint: To answer this question, we first need to understand what isomerism is. The phenomenon of isomerism occurs when two or more compounds have the same chemical formula but distinct chemical structures. Isomers are chemical compounds with identical chemical formulas but differ in characteristics and atom arrangement in the molecule.

Complete answer:
Positional isomers - Positional isomers are constitutional isomers that have the identical carbon skeleton and functional groups but differ in where the functional groups are located on or in the carbon chain. They both have a bromine atom as a functional group.
Chain isomers - A change in the atomic arrangement of the carbon to the carbon chain of a molecule is known as chain isomerism. Chain isomerism is a feature that occurs when two or more compounds have the same sort of chemical formula but different primary chains.
Optical isomers - Optical isomers are two compounds with the same number and kinds of atoms, bonds (i.e., atom connectivity), and distinct spatial arrangements of the atoms, but non-superimposable mirror images. An enantiomer is a non-superimposable mirror image structure.
Geometrical isomers - Chemical species with the same type and number of atoms as another species but a distinct geometric structure is known as geometric isomers. On either side of a chemical bond or ring structure, atoms or groups have different spatial configurations.

N-butyl alcohol and isobutyl alcohol both have chain isomerism.
Components of the (typically carbon) skeleton are differentially re-ordered to generate different structures in chain isomerism, also known as skeletal isomerism.
So, the final answer is option (B) Chain.

Note:
The phenomenon of isomerism occurs when two or more compounds have the same chemical formula but distinct chemical structures. Isomers are chemical compounds with identical chemical formulas but differ in characteristics and atom arrangement in the molecule.