Question

In the presence of concentrated sulphuric acid, acetic acid reacts with alcohol to produce-

• A. aldehyde
• B. alcohol
• C. ester
• D. carboxylic acid

Answer 1

The correct option is C

ester

This is an organo-chemical reaction and it follows an esterification reaction.

When Acetic acid (${\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{COOH}$) reacts with Ethanol (${\mathrm{CH}}_3{\mathrm{CH}}_2\mathrm{OH}$) in the presence of concentrated Sulphuric acid (${\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4$), it produces an aromatic-smelling compound, an ester and water, in a process called esterification.

The chemical reaction involved in this process is:

$$\begin{gathered} {\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{COOH}+{\mathrm{CH}}_3{\mathrm{CH}}_2\mathrm{OH}\stackrel{\mathrm{C}.{\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4}{\to }{\mathrm{CH}}_3{\mathrm{COOCH}}_2{\mathrm{CH}}_3 \\ \mathrm{acetic}\mathrm{acid}\mathrm{alcohol}\mathrm{ester} \end{gathered}$$

Hence, option C is the correct answer.