‹ Chemistry simulationsChemistry · A Level 9701 · 32 Hydroxy compounds (A Level)Five simulations covering Topic 32: ranking water, ethanol, phenol and ethanoic acid as O-H acids by pKa with the anion and its charge drawn, a sodium bench where bubble rate follows acidity and the NaOH and sodium carbonate tests separate phenol from carboxylic acids, esters made from ethanol with an acyl chloride and with a carboxylic acid with the alcohol oxygen traced, the delocalisation of the phenoxide charge into the ring in 3D, and the activated ring of phenol reacting with bromine water and dilute nitric acid where benzene does not.
Water, ethanol and phenol all have an O-H bond, but they lose H⁺ with very different ease. The deciding factor is the anion left behind: if it is stable the acid is stronger. Pick each compound, look at where the negative charge sits, and compare the pKa values.
The same four liquids, three different reagents. Sodium reacts with every O-H compound and gives hydrogen, faster the stronger the acid. Sodium hydroxide only reacts with phenol among the alcohols, and sodium carbonate only with the carboxylic acid. Choose a reagent, press Add, and read the observations.
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Ethanol makes the same ester, ethyl ethanoate, from an acyl chloride or from a carboxylic acid. The acyl chloride is so reactive that the reaction is fast at room temperature; the acid needs a catalyst and heat and only reaches equilibrium. Step through each route and follow the gold ring: it marks the oxygen that came from the alcohol.
Why is phenol so much more acidic than ethanol? Take the proton away with NaOH and look at the phenoxide ion. The p orbital on oxygen carrying the lone pair points above and below the ring, in line with the ring's p orbitals, so the negative charge can spread onto carbons 2, 4 and 6. Drag to look along the ring.
An oxygen lone pair feeding into the ring makes phenol far more reactive towards electrophiles than benzene. Phenol decolourises bromine water at once with no catalyst and gives a white precipitate; benzene does nothing under the same conditions. Choose the compound and the reagent, then press Add.
Five interactive simulations for Cambridge A Level Chemistry 9701 topic 32 Hydroxy compounds: a pKa ladder for water, ethanol, phenol and ethanoic acid with the conjugate base drawn and the pH of a tenth-molar solution worked out, a sodium bench comparing hydrogen bubble rates and the sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate tests, esterification of ethanol with ethanoyl chloride and with ethanoic acid stepped through in 3D with conditions and rate compared, the phenoxide ion in 3D with the oxygen p orbital overlapping the ring pi system, and the electrophilic substitution of phenol by bromine water and dilute nitric acid compared with benzene.
Five simulations covering Topic 32: ranking water, ethanol, phenol and ethanoic acid as O-H acids by pKa with the anion and its charge drawn, a sodium bench where bubble rate follows acidity and the NaOH and sodium carbonate tests separate phenol from carboxylic acids, esters made from ethanol with an acyl chloride and with a carboxylic acid with the alcohol oxygen traced, the delocalisation of the phenoxide charge into the ring in 3D, and the activated ring of phenol reacting with bromine water and dilute nitric acid where benzene does not.
Alcohols and phenol is a free, browser-based simulation for Cambridge International AS & A Level Chemistry 9701 (topic 32 Hydroxy compounds). The course is assessed in Paper 1 (Multiple Choice (AS)), Paper 2 (AS Structured), Paper 3 (Advanced Practical), Paper 4 (A Level Structured), Paper 5 (Planning, Analysis, Evaluation). Syllabus for examination in 2025-2027. There are 5 tabs, each a self-contained experiment with its own controls and live readings, and nothing to install: it runs on a laptop, tablet or classroom projector.
Full syllabus map: A Level Chemistry 9701 topic 32.
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