Question

Trigonal carbon of carboxylic acid and their derivatives

Answer 1

The relative reactivity of the carboxylic acid derivatives is an important concept to understand before entering into a detailed examination of nucleophilic acyl substitutions.  As a general rule, the carbonyl carbon in an acyl group is less electrophilic than that in an aldehyde or ketone.  This is because in carboxylic acid derivatives, the partial positive charge on the carbon is stabilized somewhat by resonance effects from the adjacent heteroatom.