Compounds that can exhibit tautomerism are:
I and II
I and III
II and III
I, II and III
For a carbonyl compound (aldehyde or ketone) to exhibit keto-enol tautomerism, it must possess at least one acidic -hydrogen atom attached to an hybridised carbon adjacent to the carbonyl group ().
The acidity of -hydrogens is due to the strong electron-withdrawing effect of the carbonyl group and the resonance stabilisation of the conjugate base (enolate ion). If compounds I, II, and III all contain oxidizable -hydrogens, they will all exhibit tautomerism.
Join thousands of students and practice with AI-generated mock tests.