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Topic: Are stearic and acetic acid organic acids?  (Read 4270 times)

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Offline nassah247

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Are stearic and acetic acid organic acids?
« on: February 28, 2010, 05:39:01 PM »
What are organic acids then besides the fact that they have at least a carboxyl group?
We investigated their properties with oil, water and NaHCO3 and KMnO4 aq for INFO. And the questiono say explain why with reference to these reactoins.

Stearic acid is soluble with oil
Acetic with water

Acetic reacts with NaHCO3
Stearic reacts with nothing.

Offline MOTOBALL

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Re: Are stearic and acetic acid organic acids?
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2010, 07:24:08 PM »
Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds--both acetic and stearic acids are composed largely of carbon (with H and O).

Rule of thumb "like dissolves like" i.e. the more structurally similar two compounds are, the more likely it is that one will dissolve in the other (i.e. they are miscible)

A polar compound will usually not be very miscible with a non-polar compound (gasoline is non-polar, and will not mix with water, which is very polar)

Write out the structure of stearic acid and acetic acid, and the oil---go from there.

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