Question

An organic compound ‘A’ is an essential constituent of wine and beer. Oxidation of ‘A’ yields an organic acid ‘B’ which is present in vinegar. Name the compounds ‘A’ and ‘B’ and write their structural formula. What happens when ‘A’ and ‘B’ react in the presence of an acid catalyst? Write the chemical equation for the reaction.

Answer 1

• Organic compound A is given as an essential constituent of wine and beer.
• As ethanol is an essential component of wine and beer, thus compound A is identified as Ethanol.
• When ethanol is treated with potassium chromate as the catalyst, it gets oxidized into acetic acid as shown in the following equation:

• As vinegar contains acetic acid, compound B is identified as acetic acid.
• The structural formula of compound A and B are as follows:

Compound A - Ethanol - CH₃CH₂OH

Compound B - Acetic acid - CH₃COOH

• When compound A and B react in the presence of an acid catalyst such as concentrated sulfuric acid it leads to the formation of ethyl acetate and water.
• The chemical equation involved in the reaction is as follows:

Answer 2

'A' is ethanol (C₂H₅OH) which is essential constituent of wine and beer and 'B' is acetic acid (CH₃COOH) which is present in vinegar.

When 'A' and 'B' react in the presence of an acid catalyst ethyl ethanoate is formed.