[Schrodingers Cat]

Okay, so this question is more out of curiosity, than a homework assignment. I'm a grade 12 high school student, currently learning about organic chemistry. Today, we had a lab which involved using an oxidizing agent (KMnO4) with three types of butanols (1, 2, and 3 degrees) in order to see which ones reacted and which ones didn't. Obviously 1 and 2 reacted to form an aldehyde and a keytone while the tertiary did not react.

My lab partners and I finished quickly, and while I was writing up the analysis, one of them tried to mix the aldehyde and the ketone. I said it wouldn't work, since we hadn't learned of any reactions between those two organic functional groups yet, but was quickly proved wrong. He poured the ketone into the aldehyde. The two liquids reacted into what looked like a yellowish salt and reddish liquid, which quickly dissolved into a clear solution (the aldehyde was red and the ketone was clear).

I was pretty astonished, and was even more astonished when he proceeded to mix the remaining tertiary alcohol with the next mixture. I said it wouldn't work, again, and again, I was proved wrong. He poured the tertiary alcohol (which was now a KMnO4 and T-butanol mixture) and it reacted to form a piss-yellow liquid and then reacted again (I'm assuming it did, but I'm no chemist) to form a slightly milky solution.

My question is what happened? I tried looking it up and from what I read it looks like it could have formed a hemiacetal because (at least this is what I've deduced) it was in solution with the water, and the tertiary alcohol could have formed an acetal when it was poured into the mystery solution or maybe it oxidized again to form butanoic acid?

Am I anywhere close? I was also wondering what the specific products were in the two (three?) reactions. 

[Borek]

He poured the ketone into the aldehyde.

Do I understand correctly that they were not separated from the reaction mixture, but mixed with whatever was left after permanganate oxidation?

[Schrodingers Cat]

He poured the ketone into the aldehyde.

Do I understand correctly that they were not separated from the reaction mixture, but mixed with whatever was left after permanganate oxidation?

Yes, they were not separated. The 'ketone' that he poured in was the result from oxidizing 2-butanol with KMnO4. He was doing this for fun and it wasn't apart of the lab.

[nj_bartel]

Permanganate on a primary alcohol forms a carboxylic acid, not an aldehyde