The , -unsaturated ketone shown below is formed as one of the products in a cross-aldol condensation reaction followed by heating. Identify the pair of reactants that will produce this compound.

Step-by-step solution

To identify the reactants that produce the given , -unsaturated ketone, we can perform a retro-aldol analysis by cleaving the carbon-carbon double bond. The structure of the given compound is CH₃-CH₂-C(=O)-CH=C(CH₃)₂ . In an aldol condensation, the double bond is formed between the -carbon of the enolate (nucleophile) and the carbonyl carbon ( -carbon in the product) of the other reactant (electrophile). Cleaving the C_ =C_ double bond: 1. The -carbon (the -CH= group adjacent to the carbonyl) gains two hydrogen ato