Which of the following compounds is most reactive towards nucleophilic addition reactions?
The answer is the option (i) (an aldehyde) is generally considered more reactive than ketones towards nucleophilic addition reactions. Ketones have 2 large substituents compared to 1 in aldehydes, that hinder the nucleophilic approach. Aldehydes are also considered more reactive because the 2 alkyl groups lead to the reduction of electrophilicity of the carbonyl carbon of ketone by releasing electron in its direction.
The reactivity order can be given as: