Question

what type of reaction is the transformation of ethanol into ethanoic acid

Answer 1

transformation can be caused by oxidation

Answer 2

To convert ethanol (aka ethyl alcohol) to ethanoic/acetic acid, you need to use a suitable oxidising agent - an acidic solution of potassium permanganate would be one such way to do this. The alcohol is first converted into ethanal (acetaldehyde) and then to the corresponding carboxylic acid.
CH3CH2OH + [O] → CH3CHO + H2O
CH3CHO + [O] → CH3COOH + H2O
The permanganate anion acting as the oxidising agent would reduced to Mn2+ cations in solution, so you’d end up with an aqueous solution of potassium sulphate & manganese II sulphate along with the carboxylic acid. You’d then obtain the required acid by distilling the resulting solution. There are other oxidising agents that can be used (potassium dichromate for example) or it can be done as a straight dehydrogenation reaction in the presence of a mixed transition metal hydroxide catalys