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Question Question 1
How would you distinguish experimentally between an alcohol and a carboxylic acid?
Add Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3) / Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate (NaHCO3) solution to alcohol (ethanol) and carboxylic acid (ethanoic acid). With carboxylic acid it will produce brisk effervescence of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas whereas no effervescence is seen with alcohol.
The chemical equation for reaction between Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3) / Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate (NaHCO3) and Ethanoic Acid is given below:
2CH3COOH + Na2CO3 ⟶ 2CH3COONa + H2O + CO2↑
CH3COOH + NaHCO3 ⟶ CH3COONa + H2O + CO2↑