Choose which of the following statements explains why benzoic acid is soluble in water.[Fill in the blank]

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To understand why benzoic acid is soluble in water, we should evaluate the mechanisms by which solutes interact with water.
Option a: The resulting negative charge of the carboxylate anion can undergo resonance stabilisation. While resonance stabilization of the carboxylate anion does contribute to solubility when the acid dissociates, this statement alone focuses on the ionic form after deprotonation and does not directly explain solubility of benzoic acid in neutral water. In pure water, benzoic acid is only partially ionized, so relying solely on carboxylate resonance ignores the key initial interactions.
Option b: Water is a strong base. This is inaccurate in general chemistry terms. Water is amphoteric and can act as both an acid and a base, but calling it a strong base is misleading in this context. The basicity of water does not directly justify how benzoic acid dissolves; solubility depends on hydrogen bonding and acid–base interactions, not on water being a strong base.
Option c: The hydronium ion (H3O+) is more stable than benzoic acid. This claim conflates acidity of the solvent with stability of the solute species. If hydronium were more stable, it would imply a strongly acidic environment, and this would not inherently explain benzoic acid dissolving in water. It mischaracterizes the relative stabilities relevant to solubility of benzoic acid.
Option d: Hydrogen bonding between the oxygen atom of the carboxylic acid functional group in benzoic acid and the hydrogen atom of water. This explanation aligns with how polar functional groups can interact with water through intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The carbonyl and hydroxyl oxygens in the carboxyl group are capable of accepting hydrogen bonds from water, and the acidic proton can engage in hydrogen-bonding as well, facilitating dissolution. This interaction provides a plausible, direct mechanism for solubility of benzoic acid in water.

In summary, the most coherent rationale centers on specific intermolecular interactions—namely hydrogen bonding between the carboxyl group of benzoic acid and water molecules—which enable benzoic acid to dissolve in water. The other options either overstate, misstate, or misattribute factors (such as ionic dissociation in pure water without considering the neutral-species interactions) that do not adequately account for the observed solubility behavior.

Choose which of the following statements explains why benzoic acid is soluble in water.[Fill in the blank]

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Choose which of the following statements explains why benzoic acid is soluble in water.[Fill in the blank]

查看解析

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希望你的学习变得更简单

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