How do we order the following considering their acidic nature?
1)CH3COOH
2)Phenol
3)C6H5COOH
4)CH3C(triple bond)CH
5)a cyclic alcohol [ (CH2)5-CH-OH ]
I know that Phenol is acidic than alcohols and Carboxylic acids are acidic than alcohols and the alpha H in the third compound is less acidic than alcohols and even (water?)
1,2,3 you can tell by looking up the Ka for each.
The end (right end) H is acidic in 4 and alcohols are the lowest (if acidic at all).
You can find tables that list pKa values for each class. pKa is the way to go.
But we are asked to order them without giving the ka values?
CH3C---H<alcohol<phenol<CH3COOH<benzoic acid
To order the compounds according to their acidic nature, we need to compare their relative acidities. Here's how you can determine the acidic nature of each compound:
1) CH3COOH (acetic acid): This is a common carboxylic acid. It contains a carboxyl group (-COOH) that can easily donate a proton (H+). Thus, it is acidic.
2) Phenol: Phenol is an aromatic compound with a hydroxyl group (-OH) attached to a benzene ring. The presence of the hydroxyl group makes it acidic. Compared to alcohols, phenols are more acidic due to the resonance stabilization of the phenoxide ion.
3) C6H5COOH (benzoic acid): Benzoic acid is another carboxylic acid. It has a similar acidic nature as acetic acid (CH3COOH).
4) CH3C≡CH (propyne): Propyne is an alkyne compound. While it does contain C-H bonds, which are slightly acidic, it is less acidic than carboxylic acids and phenols. Therefore, propyne is relatively less acidic.
5) A cyclic alcohol [(CH2)5-CH-OH]: This compound is a cyclic alcohol, and alcohols are generally weakly acidic. However, this specific alcohol does not contain any functional groups that enhance its acidity. Therefore, it is expected to be the least acidic among the given compounds.
Based on this information, we can order the compounds from most acidic to least acidic as follows:
2) Phenol > 3) C6H5COOH > 1) CH3COOH > 5) Cyclic alcohol > 4) CH3C≡CH