At the end of this activity, students should be able to: û explain what carboxylic acids and esters are û give the names and formulae of common carboxylic acids û discuss the chemical properties of carboxylic acids (acidity of aqueous solutions) û write down the reactions of ethanoic or methanoic acid with magnesium, copper(II) oxide and carbonates û give examples of higher fatty acids û discuss the structure of soaps û write down the reaction for esterification and specify the conditions under which it proceeds.

Originally released by Learnetic, 2016.