Fischer esterification on benzoic acid with ethanol yields which product?

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Multiple Choice

Fischer esterification on benzoic acid with ethanol yields which product?

Fischer esterification is the acid-catalyzed condensation of a carboxylic acid with an alcohol to give an ester and water. Here, benzoic acid provides the carboxyl group and ethanol provides the alkoxy part. The result is ethyl benzoate, where the benzoic acid’s carbonyl carbon bonds to an ethoxy group (O–CH2CH3), while the phenyl ring remains attached. Water is formed as a byproduct, and removing water drives the reaction toward ester formation. Benzoic acid is the starting acid, not the product; ethanol is the alcohol used, not the product; and ethyl phenyl ether would arise from a different reaction pathway (an ether formation), not Fischer esterification.

Fischer esterification is the acid-catalyzed condensation of a carboxylic acid with an alcohol to give an ester and water. Here, benzoic acid provides the carboxyl group and ethanol provides the alkoxy part. The result is ethyl benzoate, where the benzoic acid’s carbonyl carbon bonds to an ethoxy group (O–CH2CH3), while the phenyl ring remains attached. Water is formed as a byproduct, and removing water drives the reaction toward ester formation.

Benzoic acid is the starting acid, not the product; ethanol is the alcohol used, not the product; and ethyl phenyl ether would arise from a different reaction pathway (an ether formation), not Fischer esterification.

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