Answer to Question #292903 in Physical Chemistry for Dhanush

Question

An aliphatic carboxylic acid reacts with an alcohol and the following equilibrium is established RCOOH+R'CH^2OH=RCOOCH^2R'+H^2O what is the number of constituents and the number of components in the system

Answer 1

Simple dicarboxylic acids having the general formula HO2C–(CH2)n–CO2H (where n = 0 to 5) are known by the common names: Oxalic (n=0), Malonic (n=1), Succinic (n=2), Glutaric (n=3), Adipic (n=4) and Pimelic (n=5) Acids. Common names, such as these can be troublesome to remember, so mnemonic aids, which take the form of a catchy phrase, have been devised. For this group of compounds one such phrase is: "Oh My Such Good Apple Pie".