How many alkoxyalkanes can be obtained from the molecular formula C4H10O?
Answer Details
Alkoxyalkanes have a general formula of R-O-R', where R and R' are alkyl groups. From the given molecular formula C4H10O, we can see that there are four carbon atoms, so the longest possible alkyl group is butyl (C4H9-).
To form alkoxyalkanes, we need to attach an oxygen atom to the alkyl group. This can be done in three ways - by attaching the oxygen to one of the terminal carbon atoms (forming a primary alcohol), by attaching it to one of the central carbon atoms (forming a secondary alcohol), or by attaching it to the carbonyl carbon atom (forming an ester).
So, we can obtain a maximum of three alkoxyalkanes from the given molecular formula. However, we need to take into account that there are different isomers possible for each type of alcohol or ester, depending on which carbon atom the oxygen is attached to.
Therefore, the correct answer is (at least) 3.