Organic Chemistry - "Form", Part 17: Carboxylic (Organic) Acids, An Introduction

Greetings Dear Readers,

Among the more interesting organic compounds is the class known as Carboxylic Acids.  These are, in a sense, a cross (or hybrid) between aldehydes and n-alcohols (-OH group on the terminal carbon atom).  The hydrogen of the OH portion of the organic acid functional group is the acidic one.  When the acidic hydrogen comes off, the remaining portion of the molecule is, generally, known as a Carboxylate Anion.

Here are a few examples:
Formic Acid <===> Hydrogen Cation + Formate Anion,
Acetic Acid <===> Hydrogen Cation + Acetate Anion,
Propionic Acid <===> Hydrogen Cation + Propionate Anion.

The following video provides much more information, with a focus on Formic Acid (a main component of the fire ant's dangerous spray - yikes!!).



Note the tiny forward arrow compared to the much larger reverse arrow in the equilibrium equation featured in the video.  This indicates an equilbrium position which lies toward the reactant side: only a small fraction of formic acid molecules ionize to the "acid form", therefore formic acid is also generally called a "weak" acid.

That's all for this post.  Thank you for reading!

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