JAMB Chemistry 2018 Paper

Concept:Esterification is the reaction between an alcohol and an organic acid to form an ester and water.Explanation:A carboxylic acid reacts with an alcohol to produce an ester.This process requires an acid catalyst, usually concentrated $\mathrm{H}_2\mathrm{SO}_4$, to speed up the reaction.The general equation is: $\mathrm{RCOOH} + \mathrm{R'OH} \xrightarrow{\mathrm{H}^+} \mathrm{RCOOR'} + \mathrm{H}_2\mathrm{O}$Here, $\mathrm{RCOOH}$ represents the organic acid, and $\mathrm{R'OH}$ represents the alcohol.The product $\mathrm{RCOOR'}$ is the ester, while water is also formed.Saponification is the alkaline hydrolysis of fats or esters, not the direct reaction of acid and alcohol.Dehydration involves removing water from a single molecule, so it does not match this reaction.Hydrolysis breaks a compound using water, which is the reverse process of esterification.Therefore, the correct name for this reaction is esterification.Answer:C. esterification