ALCOHOL

Ethanol Alcohols are a family of compounds containing a hydroxyl (OH) group bonded to a sp3 hybridized carbon atom. The most widely known alcohol is ethanol (ethyl alcohol, CH3CH2OH).

It is the alcohol in alcoholic beverages, is used as a solvent, and is added to gasoline to aid combustion efficiency. Ethanol is also known as grain alcohol as it is a fermentation product of grains. Ethanol used in industrial (no beverage) applications is made by the hydration of (addition of water) to ethylene.

OTHER ALCOHOLS Two other common alcohols are methanol (methyl alcohol or wood alcohol, CH3OH) and 2-propanol (isopropanol, isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol,

(CH3)2CHOH). Methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol each contain one hydroxyl (alcohol) group. Ethylene glycol, a diol, contains two hydroxyl groups (HOCH2CH2OH).

It is used as an engine coolant in automobile radiators. Glycerol (glycerine) is a triol and contains three hydroxyl groups (HOCH2CH(OH)CH2OH). It is hydrophilic and has a slippery feel. It is used as a lubricant and as a humectant in personal care products to keep skin moist.

PHENOLS Hydroxyls groups can also be bonded to sp2 hybridize carbon atoms. Phenol is a compound that has a hydroxyl group bonded to one carbon atom in a benzene ring. Each carbon atom in a benzene ring is sp2 hybridized. Although phenol is an alcohol, its properties are quite different from normal alcohols.

Phenol and similar ring compounds are called aromatic or aryl alcohols. Hydroxyl groups bonded to sp2 hybridized carbon atoms in nonaromatic compounds are called enols. Enols are in equilibrium with their ketone (or aldehyde) tautomers and exist mainly in the carboxyl form.

Properties of Alcohols Alcohol are classified as primary (1 ), secondary (2 ), or tertiary (3 ) based on the substitution pattern of carbon atom to which the hydroxyl group is bonded. The hydroxyl group of a 3 , 2 , or 1 alcohol is bonded to a 3 , 2 , or 1 carbon atom, respectively. The carbon atom bonded to a hydroxyl group is known as the carbinol carbon.

The melting and boiling point of alcohol increases with increasing molecular weight. Alcohols up to about six carbon atoms are quite soluble in water. Their hydrophilic nature, and water solubility, decreases as the hydrophobic alkyl group get larger in a homologous series of alcohols. Alcohols have much higher boiling points than do alkanes of similar molecular weight. The bonding point of methanol (CH3OH; MW = 32 g/mol) is 65 , while the boiling point of ethane (C2H6; MW = 30 g/mol) is -98 . The higher boiling point of methanol is attributed to hydrogen bonding between the alcohol molecules. Energy is required to disrupt this strong intermolecular interaction for vaporization to occur.

Bad Effects Alcohol damage the young brain, interferes with mental and social development, and interrupts academic progress. Alcohol is the fatal attraction for many teens, a major factor in the three leading causes of ten dead-accidents, homicide, and suicide. JOSEPH A. CALIFANO, JR.

Drinking even in small amounts is clearly hazardous to the adolescents health, impairing judgment, distorting vision, hearing, and coordination, and altering perceptions, moods, and emotions.

Short Term Effects HANGOVER: Pounding headache, nausea, and other flulike symptoms, shaky hands, inner trembling, insomnia.

 MEMORY PROBLEMS: Bits and pieces of events or big chunks of time that occurred while drinking may be completely erased from your memory. In truth, these events were never recorded. Alcohol and acetaldehyde (the toxic chemical created when alcohol is broken down in the liver) destroy cells in the hippocampus, the long term memory storage areas of the brain. Cell destruction is usually associated with a rising blood alcohol level and may be related to oxygen deprivation in certain crucial areas of the brain. BLACKOUTS: Blackouts total memory loss for minutes, hours, or even day are a form of drug induced brain damage. Sever electrical shock, brain concussions, and anesthesia can also cause blackouts. When you use drugs in large amounts, the chemical and electrical signals in your brain are disrupted. With a drug induced electrical storm fouling up the communication lines in the brain, memory storage is interrupted. Short term memories, which are temporarily stored as electrical signals, cant be converted into permanent or long term memories.

BRAIN DAMAGE: If you go on a three or four day binge, drinking five or more drinks a day, you can damage your brain. After two days the area of the brain responsible for smell was damaged, and after four days other brain areas show significant damage.

LONG TERM EFFECTS BRAIN: Until recently, the only way we could measure the extent of drug induced brain damage was to conduct an autopsy after the person died. Today, however, we have sophisticated brain- imaging techniques that can assess brain damage in living subjects. Alcohol included brain damage is most extensive in the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that helps us stay focused, make plans, control impulses, and make decisions. LIVER: Alcohol causes fat to build up in the liver, a condition called catty infiltration of the liver. If you drink heavily and regularly, the fat

accumulates and begins to crowd out and suffocate liver cells. The liver may become inflamed, swollen, and extremely tender, a condition known as alcoholic hepatitis. PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS: Regular and or heavy alcohol use will cause or contribute to numerous emotional and behavioral problems, including chronic anxiety, panic attacks, depression , irritability, violent outbursts, paranoia, mental confusion, foggy thinking, and suicidal thoughts and or attempts.

References:
Bloch, D. R. Organic Chemistry Demystified. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print. Ketcham, Katherine, and Nicholas A. Pace. Teens under the Influence: The Truth about Kids, Alcohol, and Other Drugs: How to Recognize the Problem, and What to Do about It. New York: Ballantine, 2003. Print. "Alcohol." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.