Which specific carbonyl compound is obtained as the major cross-product from the dry distillation of — Aldehydes Ketones and Carboxylic Acids Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

Dry distillation of pure calcium acetate yields acetone. Pure calcium propionate yields 3-pentanone. Distilling a mixture of the two allows an acetyl group (from acetate) to condense with a propionyl group (from propionate), yielding the unsymmetrical ketone Butan-2-one (ethyl methyl ketone) as the major cross-product.