1. explain why acetic acid is said to be a weak acid (give details of its ironization).?

Question

2. what is the characteristic odor of the ester produced?

Preparation of ethyl ethanoate, an ester

Answer 1

an acid can be classified into strong or weak acids by its ionization or degree of ionization.the formula is

degree of ionization=(total number of ionized molecules)/(total number of acid molecules) *100

if the degree of ionization is less than 30%,then they are called weak acids and if the degree of ionization is greater than 30%,then they are called strong acids.

if we consider acetic acid,its degree of ionization is 12%.
therefore it is a weak acid

CH3COOH------------------[CH3COO]- + [H]+
here acetic ion is very unstable and again reacts with the hydrogen ion to form acetic acid,as the number of hydrogen ions is reduced .hence,degree of ionization decreases and hence it is a weak acid.

Answer 2

Acetic Acid is a weak acid because of it's incomplete ionization....futher the strongness of an acid is determined by the presence of H+ ions,for a base it is OH- ions.......since acetic acid dissociates partially the H+ ions r less
CH3COOH gives CH3COO- + H+
Due to partial ionisation there r less amount of H+ that is y it is a weak acid.

Answer 3

D Weak acids partially ionize in water. Strong acids completely ionize in water.

Answer 4

Weak and strong, when describing acids and bases, refers to the tendency to easily give up H+ or OH- (in solution), respectively.

HCl is strong, since it easily gives up its H+
CH3COOH is weak, since it won't give up its H+ very easily

Answer 5

Aside. Just because it is a 'weak' acid because of it's ionization potential, please be aware that it will give you a very painful burn that is very slow to heal. Very similar to hydorfluoric acid, another 'weak' acid that will actually kill you if it lands on your skin.