Question

Reaction of acetamide with water is an example of:
(A) hydrolysis
(B) amidolysis
(C) alcoholysis
(D) saponification

Answer 1

Acetamide is the common name of the organic compound ethanamide with the chemical formula $C{H_3}CON{H_2}$ . It is a simple amide that is obtained from ethanoic acid. You can also produce it in the laboratory from ammonium acetate via dehydration.

Complete answer:

Hydrolysis is the chemical process in which a water molecule is reacted with a compound or substance. In this reaction, the water molecule gets splitted into two parts. Generally in these reactions, the bigger or parent ion gains a hydrogen ion. In this the carbonyl carbon of amide is attacked by a nucleophile which is, in this case, hydroxyl ion from water. These ions are better nucleophiles than the polar molecules. The carbonyl carbon becomes protonated which makes the attack of nucleophiles much easier and in this way, the end product you obtained is a carboxylic acid.
When acetamide is reacted with water the carbon-nitrogen bond is broken and the hydroxyl ion which acts as the nucleophile attacks the site and it results in the formation of carboxylic acid. The hydrogen ion which is liberated forms a bond with$NH_2^ -$ and gets converted into ammonia. This reaction shows a resemblance with the hydrolysis of esters.
The reaction involved in the process is:
$C{H_3}CON{H_2} + {H_2}O\xrightarrow{{Hydrolysis}}C{H_3}COOH + N{H_3}$
Hence, we can say that the reaction of water with acetamide is an example of hydrolysis.

Therefore, option (A) is correct..

Note: Acetamide is a hygroscopic colourless solid with a mousy odour. It is soluble in water, chloroform, and partially soluble in ether. It is found in beetroots. Acetamide is used as a plasticizer, stabilizer, and fire suppressant. It is also used in the manufacturing of methylamine and explosives.