Question

Acetic acid will be obtained on oxidation of
A. Ethanol
B. Propanal
C. Methanal
D. Glyoxal

Answer 1

Hint: Acetic acid is a significant organic acid. It is one type of carboxylic acid. The acetic acid can be obtained by the oxidation of ethanol.

Complete step-by-step answer: Ethanol also known as ethyl alcohol is an organic chemical compound.
It is simple alcohol with the chemical formula
\[{\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{3}}}{\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{2}}}{\rm{OH/}}{{\rm{C}}_{\rm{2}}}{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{5}}}{\rm{OH}}\].
It contains an ethyl group associated with a hydroxyl group.
It is a significant unit of alcoholic beverages.
Acetic acid, also known as ethanoic acid, is one of the simplest organic acids.
It is an organic acid with the chemical formula \[{\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{3}}}{\rm{COOH}}\].
Oxidation of alcohol leads to the making of a carbon-oxygen double bond with the breaking of O-H and C-H bonds.
These reactions are also called dehydrogenation reactions due to the loss of hydrogen from the alcohol molecule.
The process of oxidation can be performed with a variety of reagents of neutral, acidic or alkaline nature.
For example, alkaline potassium permanganate is an alkaline reagent, acidified potassium dichromate is an acidic reagent and dilute nitric acid is a neutral one.
Primary alcohols are oxidized to aldehydes and followed by carboxylic acids.
The consequent product has an equal number of carbon atoms as the reactant alcohol.
Ethyl alcohol is a primary alcohol.
The oxidation of ethanol in the presence of alkaline potassium permanganate or potassium dichromate gives rise to acetic acid.
The reaction will occur as follows:
\[{{\rm{C}}_{\rm{2}}}{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{5}}}{\rm{OH+}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{2}}} \to {\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{3}}}{\rm{COOH + }}{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{2}}}{\rm{O}}\]

So, option A is correct.

Note: The oxidation of primary alcohols leads to the formation of the corresponding carboxylic acid.
The oxidation of secondary alcohols gives rise to corresponding ketones.
Ketones do not go through oxidation but under severe conditions, they do get transformed into carboxylic acids possessing less no.of carbon atoms than the original alcohol.
Tertiary alcohols are immune to oxidation in presence of neutral or alkaline potassium permanganate.