Which of the following statements about carboxylic acids is true?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
Which of the following statements about carboxylic acids is true?
They are always soluble in water
They have higher boiling points than alcohols
They can form hydrogen bonds
All of the above
Carboxylic acids can form hydrogen bonds due to the presence of the -COOH group, which contributes to their higher boiling points compared to hydrocarbons.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: Which of the following statements about carboxylic acids is true?
Solution: Carboxylic acids can form hydrogen bonds due to the presence of the -COOH group, which contributes to their higher boiling points compared to hydrocarbons.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand what carboxylic acids are. They are organic compounds that contain a carboxyl group (-COOH).
Step 2: Recognize that the -COOH group has a hydrogen atom that can form hydrogen bonds with other molecules.
Step 3: Know that hydrogen bonds are strong attractions between molecules, which can increase the boiling point of a substance.
Step 4: Compare carboxylic acids to hydrocarbons (which do not have -COOH groups) and note that hydrocarbons cannot form hydrogen bonds.
Step 5: Conclude that because carboxylic acids can form hydrogen bonds, they have higher boiling points than hydrocarbons.
