Hi arkcon, I have figured almost everything out since the time I made this post. Most of my lack of understanding came down to misinterpretation.
The final piece of the puzzle that i need to figure out is quite a simple one but for some reason i cannot figure it out. I have to figure out how to synthesize some kind of carboxylic acid from ethene and potassium permanganate.
I know that ethene and kmno4 will will oxidize to make ethane-1,2-diol. But then I am not sure how to go from this ethan-1,2-diol to a carboxylic acid.
Thank you for educating me on the forum rules. Thanks for the help.
P.S was my attempt at the problem good enough?