Question

Describe structure, physical properties of alcohol with example

Answer 1

Answer:

Physical properties of alcohols

Lower alcohols are liquid at room temperature while higher ones are solid.

The boiling point of alcohols is higher than haloalkanes with the same number of carbon atoms. This is due to the fact that alcohols are associated via intermolecular hydrogen bonding. For the same alcohol, as the branching increases, boiling point decreases due to decrease in surface area.

Solubility in water decreases with increase in molecular mass due to a decrease in the extent of intermolecular hydrogen bonding.

Alcohols are weaker acids than water due to the lower polarity of O – H bond in alcohols. The acidic strength of alcohols decreases as the number of electron donating groups increase at carbon.