Question

What is a primary alcohol?

Answer 1

A primary alcohol is specified when an hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon that has (at least) 2 other hydrogens bound to it.

Explanation:

Methanol and ethyl alcohol, and 1-propanol, `H_3C-CH_2CH_2OH` meet this specification (sometimes the distinction is made between methanol and primary alcohols).

On the other hand, neopentyl alcohol, `(H_3C)_3C-CH_2OH`, is a primary alcohol by this definition. It is supremely unreactive given the shrubbery around the ipso-carbon, and also given that `CH_2OH` has no `beta`-hydrogens.