The Organic Acids and Their Esters

It contains an unusually large ring (15 carbon atoms). 

Physical properties of some aldehydes and ketones are given in Table 13-2. 

Acetic acid, CH3COOH, was mentioned in Section 8-6 as an example of an organic acid. The simplest organic acid is formic acid, HCOOH. It can be made by distilling ants, and its name is from the Latin word for ants. 

Properties of some of the organic acids are given in Table 13-3. It is seen that the acid constants for the monocarboxylic acids lie in the range 

2 X 10 to 1 X 10 pK 3.7 to 5). The explanation of the greater acid strength of the —OH group in the carboxylic acids than in the alcohols is given by the theory of resonance it is similar to that already given (Section 13-3) of the acid strength of the phenols. The dissociation of a carboxylic acid is represented by the equation 

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