Chemistry Carboxylic Acids MDCAT 2017
PMDC Verified Question 73 of 94
Final product of hydrolysis of nitrile yield:
A
Ketone
B
Alcohol
C
Aldehyde
D
Carboxylic acid
Tap any option to test your recall and reveal the step-by-step Propolis autopsy.

Propolis Cognitive Error Autopsy

Official Correct Choice:
Option D: Carboxylic acid
Concept:

The complete hydrolysis (acidic or basic) of a nitrile cleaves the carbon-nitrogen triple bond and converts the functional group entirely into a carboxyl group.

Formula:

$$ \text{R-C}\equiv\text{N} \xrightarrow{2\text{H}_2\text{O}, \text{H}^+} \text{R-COOH} + \text{NH}_4^+ $$

Solution:

  • Hydrolysis of a nitrile proceeds in two stages: partial hydrolysis yields an amide (\( \text{R-CONH}_2 \)).


  • Further, complete hydrolysis breaks the amide bond, replacing nitrogen with oxygen, generating a carboxylic acid.


Why other options are incorrect:

Alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones have different oxidation states or skeletons and are not products of nitrile hydrolysis without subsequent redox reactions.

Quality & Fidelity Assurance: Every question on BeambePrep is rigorously curated against the official PMDC syllabus with zero filler, zero out-of-syllabus content, and zero typos. When an authentic past paper originally contained a historical mistake or ambiguity from the examining board (such as UHS or NUMS), BeambePrep faithfully reflects the original paper while detailing the nuance and scientific consensus in the autopsy above.

Previous Question All Carboxylic Acids MCQs Next Question

Want to solve full-length papers under timed exam conditions?

Practice with zero-scroll lockdown sprints, dynamic latency zone timers, live peer selection telemetry, and the automated Amber mistake recovery loop.

Enter Arena Sprint iOS App Android App