Lesson plan
Retene
Retene, methyl isopropyl phenanthrene or 1-methyl-7-isopropyl phenanthrene, C 18 H 18 , is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon present in the coal tar fraction, boiling above 360 °C. It occurs naturally in the tars obtained by the distillation of resinous woods. It crystallizes in large plates, which melt at 98.5 °C and boil at 390 °C. It is readily soluble in warm ether and in hot glacial acetic acid. Sodium and boiling amyl alcohol reduce it to a tetrahydroretene, but if it heated with phosphorus and hydriodic acid to 260 °C, a dodecahydride is formed. Chromic acid oxidizes it to retene quinone, phthalic acid and acetic acid. It forms a picrate that melts at 123-124 °C. Retene is derived by degradation of specific diterpenoids biologically produced by conifer trees. The presence of traces of retene in the air is an indicator of forest fires; it is a major product of pyrolysis of conifer trees. It is also present in effluents from wood pulp and paper mills. Retene, together with cadalene, simonellite and ip-iHMN, is a biomarker of vascular plants, which makes it useful for paleobotanic analysis of rock sediments. The ratio of retene/cadalene in sediments can reveal the ratio of the genus Pinaceae in the biosphere.
Article summary
Retene, methyl isopropyl phenanthrene or 1-methyl-7-isopropyl phenanthrene, C 18 H 18 , is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon present in the coal tar fraction, boiling above 360 °C. It occurs naturally in the tars obtained by the distillation of resinous woods. It crystallizes in large plates, which melt at 98.5 °C and boil at 390 °C. It is readily soluble in warm ether and in hot glacial acetic acid. Sodium and boiling amyl alcohol reduce it to a tetrahydroretene, but if it heated with phosphorus and hydriodic acid to 260 °C, a dodecahydride is formed. Chromic acid oxidizes it to retene quinone, phthalic acid and acetic acid. It forms a picrate that melts at 123-124 °C. Retene is derived by degradation of specific diterpenoids biologically produced by conifer trees. The presence of traces of retene in the air is an indicator of forest fires; it is a major product of pyrolysis of conifer trees. It is also present in effluents from wood pulp and paper mills. Retene, together with cadalene, simonellite and ip-iHMN, is a biomarker of vascular plants, which makes it useful for paleobotanic analysis of rock sediments. The ratio of retene/cadalene in sediments can reveal the ratio of the genus Pinaceae in the biosphere.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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