Question

How can ethanol and ethanoic acid be differentiated on the basis of their physical and chemical properties?

Answer 1

Differentiating between Ethanol and Ethanoic acid depending on their physical and chemical properties:

Ethanol	Ethanoic acid
(Physical properties)
Ethanol is a colourless liquid which has colorless pleasant smell.	Ethanoic acid is a colorless liquid with a pungent odor of vinegar.
It has a burning taste.	It has a sour taste.
Ethanol exist as a liquid at room temperature, and it has a melting point of 156K and a boiling point of 351 K.	Ethanoic acid has a melting point as 16oC. It often freezes in the winter season when the climate is cold.
(Chemical properties)
It does not react with react with carbonates or bicarbonates $\underset{\left(\mathrm{Ethanol}\right)}{{\mathrm{CH}}_3{\mathrm{CH}}_2\mathrm{OH}}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)+\underset{(\mathrm{Sodium}\mathrm{carbonate})}{{\mathrm{Na}}_2{\mathrm{CO}}_3\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}\to \mathrm{No}\mathrm{reaction}$	Ethanoic acid reacts with carbonates and bicarbonates liberating ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ as follows ; $\underset{(\mathrm{Ethanoic}\mathrm{acid})}{{\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{COOH}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)}+\underset{(\mathrm{Sodium}\mathrm{bicarbonate})}{{\mathrm{NaHCO}}_3\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}\to \underset{(\mathrm{Sodium}\mathrm{acetate})}{{\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{COONa}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}+\underset{\left(\mathrm{Water}\right)}{{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)}+\underset{(\mathrm{Carbon}\mathrm{dioxide})}{{\mathrm{CO}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}$