Question

Napoleon’s Buttons– Chapter 1 - Pepper, Nutmeg and Cloves

1. Are black pepper, green pepper, and white pepper all the same “stuff”? Justify your answer.

2. a.Give structures and names of the compounds associated with the following spices.

b. Convert structural formulas to molecular formulas for each.

c. Identify the ones that are structural isomers.

d. Circle and identify all functional groups.

black pepper chili peppers

ginger cloves

nutmeg oil of sassafras

Answer 1

1) Yes, black, white and green pepper are the same stuff. Difference is, they are harvested at different times.If the pepper fruit are harvested at the early stage and dried for 3 days, they become black pepper. Green pepper are prepared by harvesting at the stage of just about to become ripen.White pepper are fully ripen fruits whose outer cover is removed after harvesting. So they are of same stuff.

2)

a)Black pepper: Piperine: chemical formula C₁₇H₁₉O₃N

chilli pepper: Capsaicin: chemical formula C₁₈H₂₇O₃N

Ginger: Zingerone:C₁₁H₁₄O₃

Cloves: eugenol: C₁₀H₁₂O₂

Nutmeg oil of sassafras: isoeugenol: C₁₀H₁₂O₂

b) structural formulas C) identified and structural isomers are colored(blue) d) functional groups were circled and shown below