The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Dehydration synthesis is a chemical reaction in which one or more molecules of water are removed from the reactants to form a new product. These reactions can occur when one of the reactants has a hydroxyl group (OH) that can be cleaved, thus forming the negatively charged hydroxide ion (OH -). The other reactant must have a hydrogen atom which can be cleaved to yield a hydrogen, or hydronium, ion (H+). In solution, these ions are free to combine and form a water molecule. The respective reactants are then able to form a chemical bond that creates a new compound.
Because of the ready availability of their hydroxyl groups, many alcohols readily participate in dehydration reactions. When an alcohol loses its hydroxyl group it can combine with other electron loving species to form a new reaction product. If the alcohol loses the hydroxyl group in addition to one of its own hydrogen atoms, a new carbon-carbon bond can be formed within the molecule. When this occurs the alcohol is transformed into an unsaturated compound or into an ether. The nature of the reaction depends on the class of the alcohol. For example, ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, undergoes dehydration to form ethylene or diethyl ether. Certain polymers are also formed by this type of reaction. Dehydration synthesis is essentially the opposite of hydrolysis which is the process of breaking down compounds by dissolving in water.