Aldehydes are generally more reactive than ketones in nucleophilic addition reactions for both steric and electronic reasons. Sterically, presence of only one relatively large substituent bonded to the C=O carbon in an aldehyde versus two large substituents in a ketone means that an attacking nucleophile is able tovapproach an aldehyde more readily. Thus, the transition state leading to the tetrahedral intermediate intermediate is less crowded and lower in energy for an aldehyde than for ketone (Figure 19.3).