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JEE Main levelSingle correct optionDifficulty 2 of 3o1266

The ketone shown is reduced with sodium borohydride to an alcohol. Using configurational isomers of the alcohol's constitution as the counting convention, how many stereoisomers does the alcohol have?

  1. A4
  2. B3
  3. C2
  4. D1

Answer: A

3-Methylpentan-2-one is reduced to 3-methylpentan-2-ol. This alcohol has two stereocentres (C-2 and C-3), which are not related by symmetry, so it has stereoisomers (two pairs of enantiomers). RDKit enumeration of the product gives 4.
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