Question

Ethanol and ethanoic acid can be differentiated based on
a.) Melting point
b.) Litmus paper test
c.) Sodium bicarbonate
d.) All of the above.

Answer 1

Hint: While differentiating between ethanol and ethanoic acid; their appearance at room temperature, physical state at room temperature, odor, reactivity towards metal carbonates plays a very important role.

Complete step by step solution:

Parameter	Ethanol	Ethanoic acid
Melting and boiling point	At room temperature, Ethanol is always a liquid, and it has a melting point of 156K and a boiling point of 351 K.	At room temperature, Ethanol is always a liquid, and it has a melting point of 156K and a boiling point of 351 K.
Odor	Ethanol has a pleasant odor.	Ethanoic acid has a vinegar-like smell.
Reaction with hydrogen carbonate and sodium bicarbonate.	Ethanol does not react with carbonates or hydrogen carbonates.$C{{H}_{3}}C{{H}_{2}}OH\text{ }\\!\\!~\\!\\!\text{ }+\text{ }\\!\\!~\\!\\!\text{ }N{{a}_{2}}C{{O}_{3}}\to \text{ }\\!\\!~\\!\\!\text{ }Noreaction$	Ethanoic acid reacts with sodium bicarbonate as shown in the reaction below$C{{H}_{3}}COOH\text{ }\\!\\!~\\!\\!\text{ }+\text{ }\\!\\!~\\!\\!\text{ }NaHC{{O}_{3}}~\to \text{ }\\!\\!~\\!\\!\text{ }C{{H}_{3}}COONa\text{ }\\!\\!~\\!\\!\text{ }+\text{ }\\!\\!~\\!\\!\text{ }{{H}_{2}}O\text{ }\\!\\!~\\!\\!\text{ }+\text{ }\\!\\!~\\!\\!\text{ }C{{O}_{2}}$
Litmus paper test	Ethanol is a neutral compound and does not change the color of litmus paper	Ethanoic acid turns blue litmus paper red, indicating that it is acidic in nature. It is a weak acid as it dissociates partially in aqueous solution.

According to information explained in the above table, we conclude that ethanol and ethanoic acid can be differentiated based on melting point, litmus paper test, and sodium bicarbonate reaction.

Hence the accurate answer to the given question is an option (D) all of the above.

Note:
Ethanol has an ethyl group whereas ethanoic acid has a methyl group. Ethanoic acid is a carboxylic acid and ethanol is alcohol. Ethanol contains a hydroxyl group whereas ethanoic acid contains a carboxyl group.