Transcript Carboxylic Acids and Esters - Science

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What are esters?
Esters have characteristic smells, and are
often used in flavourings and perfumes.
For example:
 propyl ethanoate smells of pears
 butyl butanoate smells of pineapple
 methyl butanoate smells of apple.
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Esters
Esters contain this group of atoms:
...which is written as –COO–.
Esters are made from the reaction of a carboxylic acid with an
alcohol:
carboxylic acid + alcohol  ester + water
propanoic acid + methanol  methyl propanoate + water
CH3CH2COOH +
+
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CH3OH


CH3CH2COOCH3
+ H2O
+
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Naming esters
Esters are named after the alcohol and the carboxylic acid
from which they are made. The alcohol gives the first part
of the name, and the carboxylic acid gives the second.
Esters always end in “–anoate”.
For example:
ethanoic acid
methanol
methyl ethanoate
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Matching carboxylic acids to their esters
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Practising naming esters
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