MDCAT Chemistry — Alcohols and Phenols
Alcohols and Phenols is a core Chemistry topic in the PMDC MDCAT syllabus, covering 5 subtopics. Below are the subtopics to revise, how often the topic appears in past papers, and real past-paper MCQs to try.
Subtopics (5)
- Alcohol vs Phenol
- Chemistry of Alcohols (Ethers, Esters)
- Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution in Phenols
- Nomenclature, Structure, Reactivity of Alcohols
- Nomenclature, Structure, Reactivity of Phenols
How Alcohols and Phenols is tested
Across the 16 MDCAT past papers on ParhaiKrlo, Alcohols and Phenols accounts for 26 questions. It appears in 13 of them, about 2 questions a paper. The heaviest was MDCAT 2013, with 3 questions, and the most recent is MDCAT 2025, with 1.
| Paper | Questions |
|---|---|
| MDCAT 2025 | 1 |
| MDCAT 2024 | 2 |
| MDCAT 2023 | 2 |
| MDCAT 2018 | 2 |
| MDCAT 2017 | 1 |
| MDCAT 2015 | 1 |
| MDCAT 2014 | 2 |
| MDCAT 2013 | 3 |
| MDCAT 2012 | 3 |
| MDCAT 2011 | 2 |
| MDCAT 2010 | 2 |
| MDCAT 2009 | 2 |
| MDCAT 2008 | 3 |
Alcohols and Phenols MCQs from the MDCAT past papers
Try each one before opening the answer. Each comes with a short explanation.
- Q1 · MDCAT 2025 · Alcohols and Phenols
Which of the following best explains why phenol reacts with aqueous NaOH, but alcohols do not?
- A.Phenol has a lower boiling point than alcohol
- B.Alcohols contain a strong O-H bond that cannot be broken by weak bases
- C.Phenol forms hydrogen bonding that facilitates ionization
- D.Phenol is weakly acidic due to resonance stabilization of the phenoxide ion
Show answer
Answer: D. Phenol is weakly acidic due to resonance stabilization of the phenoxide ion — Phenol is weakly acidic because resonance stabilizes the phenoxide ion, unlike alcohols.
- Q2 · MDCAT 2024 · Alcohols and Phenols
Which of the following alcohol can give lodoform reaction?
- A.Methanol
- B.1-Butanol
- C.1-Propanol
- D.Ethanol
Show answer
Answer: D. Ethanol — Ethanol gives a positive iodoform test, because it has the required CH3-CH(OH)- (methyl carbinol) group.
- Q3 · MDCAT 2023 · Alcohols and Phenols
If phenol is treated with 3 moles of conc. HNO₃ in the presence of H₂SO₄, what will be the product?
- A.o-nitrophenol
- B.p-nitrophenol
- C.o-nitrophenol and p-nitrophenol
- D.Picric acid
Show answer
Answer: D. Picric acid — Phenol treated with excess (3 moles) concentrated nitric acid in the presence of sulfuric acid gives picric acid (2,4,6-trinitrophenol).