Question

How is the progress of reaction followed in the following first order reaction:

Hydrolysis of ethyl acetate in the presence of dil. HCl;

Answer 1

The hydrolysis of ethyl acetate in the presence of dilute HCl is a first-order reaction:

\[\ce{CH3COOC2H5 + H2O −> CH3COOH +  C2H5OH}\]

The progress of this reaction is followed by measuring the concentration of acetic acid (CH₃COOH) formed over time. This is typically done by titrating a known volume of the reaction mixture with a standard alkali solution (like NaOH) at regular intervals. The amount of alkali required indicates how much acetic acid has formed, allowing calculation of the reaction rate.