The acidity of alcohol,phenol,and carboxylic acid differs. Demonstrate their reactivity with $Na$,$NaOH$,and $NaHCO_3$ using the table below.
Compound Reaction with $Na$ metal Reaction with $NaOH$ Reaction with $NaHCO_3$
Alcohol $H_2$ is liberated No reaction No reaction
Phenol $H_2$ is liberated Soluble salt formed No reaction
Carboxylic acid $H_2$ is liberated Soluble salt formed $CO_2$ gas is liberated

Vedclass pdf generator app on play store
Vedclass iOS app on app store
(N/A) The acidity of these compounds follows the order: $Carboxylic \ acid > Phenol > Alcohol$.
$1$. $Na$ metal: All three compounds contain an acidic hydrogen atom ($-OH$ group),so they all react with $Na$ to liberate $H_2$ gas.
$2$. $NaOH$: Carboxylic acids and phenols are acidic enough to react with the strong base $NaOH$ to form water-soluble salts. Alcohols are too weakly acidic to react with $NaOH$.
$3$. $NaHCO_3$: Only carboxylic acids are strong enough to react with the weak base $NaHCO_3$ to liberate $CO_2$ gas. Phenols and alcohols are not acidic enough to decompose $NaHCO_3$.

Explore More

Similar Questions

The silver salt of a fatty acid on refluxing with an alkyl halide gives an

When carboxylic acid reacts with organolithium reagents to give ketones,side reactions sometimes occur. For example,
$HOCH_2CH_2CH(CH_3)CH_2CH_2COOH$ $\xrightarrow[(x) \, CH_3Li]{tetrahydro\,furan}$ $\xrightarrow[NH_4Cl]{H_2O}$ $\underset{63\%}{\text{Compound } A: HOCH_2CH_2CH(CH_3)CH_2CH_2COCH_3}$ + $\underset{37\%}{\text{Compound } (B)}$
The value of $(x)$ in the above reaction is:

Difficult
View Solution

$R-CO-OR' \xrightarrow{LiAlH_4} B + C$. Both $B$ and $C$ give a positive iodoform test. $R$ and $R'$ can be:

The correct order of acidic strength is

$CH_3-CH_2-COOH$ $\xrightarrow{Cl_2/Fe} X$ $\xrightarrow{\text{Alcoholic } KOH} Y$. Compound $Y$ is:

Vedclass Products

For Students

Vedclass Test Series

Mock tests in real JEE/NEET style with performance analysis. 5-day free trial.

Start Free Trial
For Teachers

Exam Paper Generator

Generate Set A/B/C/D exam papers from 7.5L+ questions in 2 minutes. 3 chapters free.

Try Free
For Institutes

Online Exam Module

Live online exams with unlimited students, 360° analytics & white-label branding.

See Demo