Free Reactivity of Carboxylic Acids MCQs with Answers
56 Reactivity of Carboxylic Acids MCQs from Chemistry, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
Carboxylic acids show acidic behaviour because their carboxylate ions are resonance-stabilised, and electron-withdrawing groups can change their strength. Reactions include neutralisation, esterification, formation of acid chlorides and amides, reduction, decarboxylation and substitution at the acyl carbon, which differs from the reactions of phenols.
Last updated
56 questions · page 1 of 3
- A. they contain more hydrogen atoms
- B. the carboxylate ion formed is stabilised by delocalisation of the negative charge over two oxygen atoms
- C. they are liquids at room temperature
- D. their molecules are larger
Explanation: Losing the acidic hydrogen gives an ion whose charge is shared equally between the two oxygens, so the two carbon to oxygen bonds become…
Correct answer: the carboxylate ion formed is stabilised by delocalisation of the negative charge over two oxygen atoms- A. sodium ethanoate, water and carbon dioxide
- B. sodium ethanoate and hydrogen
- C. ethanol and carbon dioxide
- D. no reaction
Explanation: Being a stronger acid than carbonic acid, ethanoic acid displaces carbon dioxide from a carbonate, and the effervescence produced is the…
Correct answer: sodium ethanoate, water and carbon dioxide- A. donates electrons to the carboxyl group
- B. increases the molar mass
- C. withdraws electron density, spreading and stabilising the negative charge of the anion
- D. makes the molecule non polar
Explanation: The electron withdrawing inductive effect of chlorine pulls charge away from the carboxylate oxygens, so the ion is more stable and the…
Correct answer: withdraws electron density, spreading and stabilising the negative charge of the anion- A. are ionised
- B. form dimers held together by two hydrogen bonds
- C. form covalent bonds with one another
- D. are non polar
Explanation: Two molecules pair up so that the hydroxyl hydrogen of each bonds to the carbonyl oxygen of the other, giving a cyclic dimer with double…
Correct answer: form dimers held together by two hydrogen bonds- A. an aldehyde only
- B. a primary alcohol
- C. a ketone
- D. an alkane
Explanation: Lithium aluminium hydride is powerful enough to reduce the carboxyl group all the way to a primary alcohol, passing through the aldehyde…
Correct answer: a primary alcohol- A. Ethanoic acid
- B. Propanoic acid
- C. Trichloroethanoic acid
- D. Butanoic acid
Explanation: Three electronegative chlorine atoms withdraw electron density powerfully and stabilise the carboxylate ion, so trichloroethanoic acid is…
Correct answer: Trichloroethanoic acid- A. fails to react with alkalis
- B. acts as a reducing agent, giving a silver mirror with Tollens reagent
- C. contains no carboxyl group
- D. is insoluble in water
Explanation: Its carboxyl carbon also carries a hydrogen, so the molecule contains an aldehyde group as well and can be oxidised further to carbon…
Correct answer: acts as a reducing agent, giving a silver mirror with Tollens reagent- A. they ionise completely
- B. they are non polar
- C. the carboxyl group forms hydrogen bonds with water molecules
- D. they react with water chemically
Explanation: Both the carbonyl oxygen and the hydroxyl hydrogen can take part in hydrogen bonding with water, so the smaller acids dissolve freely, and…
Correct answer: the carboxyl group forms hydrogen bonds with water molecules- A. Sodium hydroxide solution
- B. Sodium metal
- C. Sodium hydrogen carbonate solution
- D. Litmus paper alone
Explanation: Ethanoic acid gives brisk effervescence of carbon dioxide with hydrogen carbonate while phenol, being too weak an acid, gives no reaction…
Correct answer: Sodium hydrogen carbonate solution- A. Propionic acid
- B. Cinnamic acid
- C. Pyruvic acid
- D. Tartaric acid
Explanation: Lactic acid, CH3CH(OH)COOH, contains a secondary alcohol group that alkaline potassium permanganate oxidizes to a ketone, giving…
Correct answer: Pyruvic acid- A. Depression of freezing point
- B. Volumetric method
- C. Victor Meyer's method
- D. Osmosis method
Explanation: For a monobasic organic acid, volumetric analysis gives the amount of base required for neutralisation and can be used to calculate the…
Correct answer: Volumetric method- A. 3-Hydroxy propanoic acid
- B. 2-Hydroxy propanoic acid
- C. 2-hydroxy butanoic acid
- D. 3-hydroxy butanoic acid
Explanation: Lactic acid has the structure CH3-CH(OH)-COOH, so its systematic name is 2-hydroxypropanoic acid.
Correct answer: 2-Hydroxy propanoic acid- A. alkane
- B. alcohols
- C. aldehydes
- D. ketones
Explanation: HI with phosphorus is a strong reducing system that removes the carboxyl group of a carboxylic acid and converts the remaining carbon…
Correct answer: alkane- A. formic acid
- B. acetic acid
- C. propionic acid
- D. butyric acid
Explanation: Butyric acid, CH3CH2CH2COOH, has a strong rancid or unpleasant smell and is associated with the odour of rancid butter.
Correct answer: butyric acid- A. C15H31COOH
- B. C13H27COOH
- C. C17H33COOH
- D. C17H35COOH
Explanation: Palmitic acid is a saturated C16 fatty acid, so its formula is C15H31COOH, which contains 16 carbon atoms in total.
Correct answer: C15H31COOH- A. Citric acid
- B. Benzoic acid
- C. Tartaric acid
- D. Oxalic acid
Explanation: Lemon juice contains a high concentration of citric acid, C6H8O7, which gives it its characteristic sour taste.
Correct answer: Citric acid- A. Water
- B. Formic acid
- C. Acetic acid
- D. Propanoic acid
Explanation: Formic acid is the strongest of these weak acids because the alkyl groups in acetic and propanoic acids donate electron density toward the…
Correct answer: Formic acid- A. Lactic acid
- B. Formic acid
- C. Uric acid
- D. Acetic acid
Explanation: Red ants inject formic acid, HCOOH, into the skin, and its acidic action causes the burning irritation.
Correct answer: Formic acid- A. malonic acid
- B. oxalic acid
- C. succinic acid
- D. maleic acid
Explanation: Maleic acid is but-2-enedioic acid, containing a carbon-carbon double bond, so it is an unsaturated dicarboxylic acid.
Correct answer: maleic acid- A. Alkyne
- B. Alkene
- C. Alkane
- D. Alcohol
Explanation: Complete reduction of a carboxylic acid removes the oxygen functionality and gives the corresponding alkane, for example RCOOH -> RCH3…
Correct answer: AlkaneReactivity of Carboxylic Acids MCQs: common questions
Are these Reactivity of Carboxylic Acids MCQs free?
Yes. All Reactivity of Carboxylic Acids MCQs from Chemistry are free on TestUstad, with unlimited attempts and no account needed. Nothing on this page is a sample or a trial.
How many Reactivity of Carboxylic Acids MCQs are on this page?
There are 56 Reactivity of Carboxylic Acids MCQs in the Chemistry bank, shown 20 to a page with the correct answer and an explanation on each.
Does every Reactivity of Carboxylic Acids MCQ have an explanation?
Yes. Each Reactivity of Carboxylic Acids question shows the correct option and a written explanation of why it is correct, so a wrong answer teaches you something rather than just being marked wrong.
Can I take a timed Reactivity of Carboxylic Acids test?
Yes. The practice button on this page starts a free Reactivity of Carboxylic Acids test drawn from the Chemistry bank. It marks each answer instantly, gives you a score at the end, and can be retaken as many times as you like.