Alcohol is commonly thought of as either rubbing alcohol, the active ingredient in an alcoholic drink, or the additive that makes gasoline into gasohol. Chemists generalize its meaning to include almost any carbon-hydrogen compound with at least one hydroxyl group (symbolized as -OH) in its molecular structure. Categorized by the number and placement of the -OH groups, and the size and shape of the attached carbon molecule, alcohols are fundamental to organic chemical synthesis. The chemical industry produces and uses many different kinds of alcohols.
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