Final answer:
An amide is the compound that is reduced to get a secondary amine. It involves the reduction of the carbonyl group bonded to a nitrogen, which can lead to the formation of a secondary amine, depending on the substituents attached to the nitrogen.
Step-by-step explanation:
To identify which compound is reduced to get a secondary amine among nitrile, nitro compound, carbylamine, and amide, it is essential to understand the chemical structure of these compounds. An amide is a compound where the carbonyl carbon (carbonyl group) is bonded to nitrogen, which can further be bonded to hydrogens or carbons or both. As such, amides can be thought of as a carbonyl bonded to an amine. When amides are reduced, the amine part can result in the formation of a secondary amine if the starting amide had one carbon group attached.
A secondary amine has a nitrogen atom bonded to one hydrogen atom and two carbons (secondary amine). Based on the structures of the listed compounds, and considering that a nitro compound typically gives a primary amine upon reduction, we can deduce that an amide can be selectively reduced to form a secondary amine, provided the starting amide has the appropriate substituents attached to the nitrogen.