JEE Main Chemistry question

**Statement 1:** Benzoic acid is a stronger acid than phenol. **Statement 2:** Resonating structures of phenoxide ion have negative charge on a less electronegative carbon atom.

(A)Assertion is True, Reason is True; Reason is correct explanation for AssertionCorrect
(B)Assertion is True, Reason is True; Reason is not correct explanation for Assertion
(C)Assertion is True, Reason is False
(D)Assertion is False, Reason is True

Answer: (A)

Solution

Both statements are true: benzoic acid (pKa ≈ 4.2) is indeed far more acidic than phenol (pKa ≈ 10). The reason is exactly as Statement 2 describes: in the phenoxide ion, several resonance structures place the negative charge on ring carbons (less electronegative than oxygen), giving

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Question ID VK-148674