Question

How do you identify whether a functional group is acidic or basic? For example, which of these functional groups are acidic and which are basic? – hydroxyl-carbonyl-carboxyl-amino-sulfhydryl-phosphate

Answer 1

Functional groups are smaller groups of atoms that are known to display a characteristic reactivity. They are known to show a characteristic chemical behavior. They are also given specific names as they are important to understand organic chemistry and they often carry over in the individual compound’s naming which are incorporating the groups.

Complete step-by-step answer: These groups react in a typical way, and they are known to be independent of the rest of the molecule. Every organic molecule has its own specific type of functional group. Their property is that they can participate in specific chemical reactions. They can be divided into hydrophobic or hydrophilic as per their charge or polarity. Hydrophobic means that they lack an affinity to water which means that they cannot be wetted by water. Hydrophilic ones do not lack affinity to water and thus can be wetted by water.
An example of a hydrophobic group- methane molecule which is non polar in nature. An example of hydrophilic group- carboxyl group which can be found in amino acids and fatty acids.
Carboxyl group ionizes to release hydrogen ions which are ${H^ + }$ from the group $COOH$ which results in $CO{O^ - }$ group. This causes hydrophilic nature.
Acidic groups are- Hydroxyl, Carboxyl, Amino, Phosphate
Basic groups are – Carbonyl, Sulfhydryl

Note: Functional groups play an important role when we talk about the formation of substances such as proteins, lipids etc. This is because they are known to be attached to the carbon molecule. In a carbonyl group we can see that they have a partially negatively charged oxygen atom which may form hydrogen bonds with water molecules, making the molecule more hydrophilic.