Question

True/False: The red brown precipitate of aldehydes with Fehling’s solution is due to the formation of Cu\(_2\)O.

Hint:

Fehling’s test is positive for aliphatic aldehydes due to the formation of red-brown \(\text{Cu}_2\text{O}\) precipitate.

Answer 1

Step 1: Fehling’s solution contains \(\text{Cu}^{2+}\) ions in an alkaline medium.
Step 2: Aliphatic aldehydes reduce \(\text{Cu}^{2+}\) ions to \(\text{Cu}^+\) ions during oxidation to carboxylate ions.
Step 3: The reduced \(\text{Cu}^+\) ions form cuprous oxide (\(\text{Cu}_2\text{O}\)), which appears as a red-brown precipitate.