Question

How do we represent the saponification of ethyl acetate by sodium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide?

Answer 1

`"H"_3"CCH"_2"C(=O)OC"_2"H"_5 + "NaOH" rarr "C"_2"H"_5"OH + H"_3"CCH"_2"C(=O)O"^(-)"Na"^+`

Explanation:

Alternatively,

`"ethyl propanoate + sodium hydroxide"` `rarr` `"sodium propanoate + ethyl alcohol"`

The ester linkage is labile to hydrolysis by either aqueous acid or aqueous base. With base, and with longer esters, this is a saponification reaction, because it is used to make soap (on which we all depend!).