Practice:

1. What is the name of the ester formed from the following reactions?
a. Pentanoic acid and propanol
b. Methanol and propanoic acid

2. Identify the alcohol and the acid that reacted to produce the following esters:
a. Pentyl propanoate
b. Butyl ethanoate
c. Hexyl methanoate

3. Write the chemical formula of the following esters:

a. Ethyl propanoate
b. Methyl hexanoate
c. Propyl butanoate

4. Name the following esters given their molecular formula:

a. HCOOCH3
b. C2H5COOC4H9
c. CH3COOC5H11

Answers:
1. What is the name of the ester formed from the following reactions?
a. Pentanoic acid and propanol Propyl pentanoate
b. Methanol and propanoic acid Methyl propanoate

2. Identify the alcohol and the acid that reacted to produce the following esters:
a. Pentyl propanoate Pentanol and propanoic acid
b. Butyl ethanoate Butanol and ethanoic acid
c. Hexyl methanoate Hexanol and methanoic acid

3. Write the chemical formula of the following esters:

a. Ethyl propanoate C2H5COOC2H5
b. Methyl hexanoate C5H11COOCH3
c. Propyl butanoate C3H7COOC3H7

4. Name the following esters given their molecular formula:

a. HCOOCH3 methyl methanoate
b. C2H5COOC4H9 butyl propanoate
c. CH3COOC5H11 pentyl ethanoate
Practice:
1. Write the chemical equations as well as the fully displayed formula and name of the
ester formed from the following reactions: (Take all state symbols to be liquid)
a. Pentanoic acid and propanol
b. Methanol and propanoic acid
c. Butanol and ethanoic acid
d. Ethanol and pentanoic acid

a. Pentanoic acid and propanol

Propyl pentanoate
b. Methanol and propanoic acid

Methyl propanoate
c. Butanol and ethanoic acid

Butyl ethanoate
d. Ethanol and Pentanoic acid

Ethyl pentanoate
Objective: Describe the hydrolysis of esters to include the saponification of fats and oils.

Saponification is the process by which soap is made through the alkaline hydrolysis of natural
esters such as fats and oils.

Just like proteins are made of amino acids and carbohydrates are made of monosaccharides,
what are fats made of?

Fatty acids and glycerol

We just said above that fats and oils are considered to be natural esters...can you see a
correlation between fats and oils and esters?

Esters are made of an acid and an alcohol and fats are made of fatty acids (which are acids)
and glycerol (which is an alcohol).

In fact, natural esters are made of an alcohol that has 3 OH groups (glycerol) and carboxylic
acid molecules containing more than C atoms.

The naturally occurring ester formed from these compounds is called a glyceride.
If natural esters are hydrolyzed under excess alkaline conditions, the alkali will react with the
acid that is produced. The result is a soap.

This process is known as saponification.

Objective: Describe the structure of a molecule of soap.

The soap molecule contains 2 parts:

- The hydrophobic tail
- The hydrophilic head

Which is also represented as:

The hydrophilic head is soluble in water.

The hydrophobic tail is soluble in fats and oils.
Objective: Describe how soap cleans.

Grease doesn’t dissolve in water because there isn’t enough of an attraction between the
hydrocarbon molecules of the grease and the water molecules.

Soap overcomes this difficulty.

The hydrocarbon tails dissolve in the grease leaving the ionic hydrophilic heads sticking out into
the water, lowering the water’s surface tension.

The soap molecules surround the grease in this way forming a structure called a micelle which
remains suspended in the water.

The dirt and grease are now confined to the water and can be washed away.

Objective: Distinguish between soapy and soapless detergents.

A detergent is a chemical added to water to remove dirt.

There are 2 main sub-groups of detergent:

- Soapy
- Soapless

The difference between the two lies in how they are made.

Soapy detergents are made using the alkaline hydrolysis (using NaOH or KOH) of natural
esters (fats and oils from plants and animals) through the process of saponification.

Soapless detergents are a product of the petroleum industry as they are made from
petroleum. Their structure is slightly different from soapy detergents.
Objective: Compare the effect of soapy and soapless detergents on hard and soft water
and on the environment.

Effect of soapy and soapless detergents in hard and soft water:

Hard water is water that contains Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions (from dissolved salts).
Soft water contains hardly any dissolved calcium or magnesium salts.

If a soap is added to hard water, it will first react with the Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions present before it
begins to clean the dirt.
The result is the production of scum.

2C17H35COONa(aq) + Ca2+(aq) → (C17H35COO)2Ca(s) + 2Na+(aq)

soap scum
-
C17H35COO - the stearate ion

The soap is used up to produce the scum and so less soap is available to actually clean.
Only when all the Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions are removed from the water will the rest of the soap lather
and remove dirt.

Soapless detergents lather much more easily with hard water than soapy detergents.
This is because the calcium and magnesium salts they form in hard water are soluble and so do
not form scum.

Both soapy and soapless detergents will lather when shaken with soft water.

Effect of soapy and soapless detergents on the environment:

- Soapy detergents are made from renewable resources such as fats and oils derived
from plants and animals while soapless detergents are made from a non-renewable
resource (crude oil).

- Soapy detergents are biodegradable whereas, some soapless detergents are

non-biodegradable. They cause foam to build up in sewerage systems making the
sewage treatment process more difficult.

Also, foam accumulation on the surface of bodies of water prevents O2(g) from
dissolving in the water resulting in death of aquatic organisms.
- Soapy detergents do not contain phosphates. Soapless detergents contain phosphates
which pollute water resulting in eutrophication.

What is eutrophication?

Eutrophication is the rapid growth of green algae on the surface of bodies of

water.

In addition to phosphates, what other ion is primarily responsible for eutrophication?

Nitrates

What are some of the consequences of eutrophication?

The algae form a coating on the surface of the water, thus, sunlight does not reach
aquatic plants. These aquatic plants are the base of the aquatic food chain so their
death will ultimately severely affect the aquatic ecosystem.

The presence of the algae on the surface of the water also limits the dissolving of O2(g)
into the water. This oxygen is required for respiration of living organisms so an absence
of this oxygen will ultimately result in death of aquatic organisms.