Question

Arrange the following in increasing order of acid strength:

phenol, ethanol, water

Answer 1

Ethanol (C₂H₃OH) < Water (H₂O) < Phenol (CH₃OH)

Phenol is the strongest acid among them because its conjugate base is stabilised by resonance.

Both water and ethanol are weak acids, but ethanol is weaker than water due to the presence of an alkyl (ethyl) group, which reduces acidity by exerting a +I (inductive) effect.