Question

Which out of the following has a smell similar to that of vinegar?
A.Methanol
B.Ethanol
C.Ethanoic acid
D.Formic acid

Answer 1

Vinegar is chemically an acetic acid present in an aqueous form. It has a chemical formula:$C{H_3}COOH$ . Vinegar is an acid and has a pH of around$2.5$. It is clear white in color and sour. It is widely used in households around the world in the kitchen.in industries, acetic acid is used in the preparation of acetates and is sometimes used in printing processes.

Complete answer:
Methanol: its common name is methyl alcohol, having a molecular formula is $C{H_3}OH$. It is also known as wood spirit or wood alcohol. Initially, methanol was produced by the destructive distillation of wood. Nowadays methanol is produced from natural gas. Methanol is the simplest alcohol. It has a very pungent sweet smell. And mixes completely with water.
Ethanol: its common name is ethyl alcohol, having a molecular formula is ${C_2}{H_6}O$. It is also known as grain alcohol, or simply alcohol. It is produced by two methods first by fermentation of sugars using microbes and second by reacting ethene with steam. Ethanol is used as a solvent, fuel, preservative, and many more. It has its characteristic odor. This sometimes may be sweet and sometimes very bad. It is similar to that of methanol.
Ethanoic acid: its common name is acetic acid. Ethanoic acid is the IUPAC name of vinegar. Its chemical formula is$C{H_3}COOH$. It is manufactured by combining ethanol with oxygen present in the air(oxidation of ethanol). It has a very sharp and strong smell as in the case of vinegar.
Formic acid: it is also called methanoic acid (the simplest of carboxylic acids found). Its molecular formula is $C{H_2}{O_2}$. It is isolated from ants. Formic acid has a very strong, pungent, and penetrating smell.
So among the above options, we can conclude that ethanoic acid is likely vinegar and hence it has a smell similar to that of vinegar.

Therefore the correct option is: C. Ethanoic acid

Note:
Ethanoic acid, acetic acid, and vinegar are all the same. It is just that ethanoic acid is the IUPAC name and acetic acid is the common name. And vinegar is used in normal layman language. So their structure and the molecular formula are also the same($C{H_3}COOH$). It is a weak acid and used in various ways.