[viet]

i'm suppose to draw 2 major products from:
1-(3-methylcyclobutyl)ethanol  + (H2SO4 + heat). I don't understand how the ring-expanding rearrangement come into play with carbonation intermediates.

[honeyissticky]

you could use this rationale to make sense of why some rings will undergo ring expansion:

We know that a cyclpentane would love to expand to a cyclohexane, because of relieved ring strain. Therefore, we can expect a ring expansion to be favorable to to a hydride shift in this case. Try applying this to your question. Would a cyclopropane do the same? What about a cyclobutane/heptane?