Question

Choose the correct word/phrase from within the brackets to complete the sentence.
Ethanoic acid reacts with ethanol in the presence of concentrated $H_{2}S{O}_4$, to form a compound and water.
The chemical reaction which takes place is called.

• A. dehydration
• B. hydrogenation
• C. esterification

Answer 1

The correct option is C

esterification

Ethanoic acid and Ethanol:

1. Ethanoic acid, also known as Acetic acid has the chemical formula $C{H}_{3}COOH$.
2. Ethanol, also known as Ethyl alcohol has the chemical formula$C_2{H}_{5}OH$.

Reaction with conc. ${\text{H}}_2{\text{SO}}_4$:

1. When Ethanoic acid reacts with Ethanol in the presence of concentrated Sulphuric acid, it forms an ester compound named Ethyl ethanoate ($C{H}_{3}COO{C}_2{H}_5$) and water.
2. Hence, this process is known as esterification as it involves the formation of ester.
3. The reaction is given below:

${\text{CH}}_3{\text{CH}}_2\text{OH (l)}+{\text{CH}}_3\text{COOH (l)}\stackrel{conc.H_{2}S{O}_4}{\to }{\text{CH}}_3{\text{COOCH}}_3{\text{CH}}_2\left(l\right)+{\text{H}}_2\text{O (l)}$

Ethanoic acid reacts with ethanol in the presence of concentrated ${\text{H}}_2{\text{SO}}_4$ to form a compound and water. The chemical reaction which takes place is called esterification.