Question

Assertion: Ethanol is a weaker acid than phenol but is a stronger nucleophile than phenol.


Reason: In phenol the lone pair of electrons on oxygen is withdrawn towards the ring due to
resonance.​

Answer 1

Assertion and Reason both are correct.............

Answer 2

Assertion: Ethanol is a weaker acid than phenol but is a stronger nucleophile than phenol.

Reason: In phenol, the lone pair of electrons on oxygen is withdrawn towards the ring due to  resonance.​

Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of the assertion.

• The molecular formula of ethanol is C₂H₅OH while that of phenol is C₆H₅OH.
• When phenol removes a proton, it forms a phenoxide ion which is stabilized by resonating structures while there is no resonance in ethanol.
• Thus ethanol is a weaker acid than phenol.
• On the other hand, ethanol is a stronger nucleophile than phenol because in phenol, the lone pair of electrons get diffused into the ring due to resonance.