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How would you distinguish experimentally between an alcohol and a carboxylic acid?


Answer :

We can distinguish between an alcohol and a carboxylic acid on the basis of their reaction with carbonates and hydrogen carbonates. Acid reacts with carbonate and hydrogen carbonate to evolve \( CO_2 \) gas that turns lime water milky. On the other hand, alcohols do not react with carbonates and hydrogen carbonates so there won’t be any evolution of \( CO_2 \) gas .Thus, the reaction with carbonate or hydrogen carbonate can be used to distinguish between carboxylic acid and alcohol.

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