The C O double bond has a dipole moment of about 2.4 D and a bond length of about 1.23 . (a) Calculate the amount of charge separation in this bond. (b) Use this information to evaluate the relative importance of the following two resonance contributors: O C R R C+ R R O (R is a general symbol for a carbon-containing group.)
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Textbook Solutions for Organic Chemistry
Question
The \(\mathrm{p} K_{\mathrm{a}}\) of ascorbic acid (vitamin C, page 55) is 4.17, showing that it is slightly more acidic than acetic acid \(\left(\mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{COOH}\right.,\left.\mathrm{p} K_{\mathrm{a}}\ 4.74\right)\).
(a) Show the four different conjugate bases that would be formed by deprotonation of the four different OH groups in ascorbic acid.
(b) Compare the stabilities of these four conjugate bases, and predict which OH group of ascorbic acid is the most acidic.
(c) Compare the most stable conjugate base of ascorbic acid with the conjugate base of acetic acid, and suggest why these two compounds have similar acidities, even though ascorbic acid lacks the carboxylic acid (COOH) group.
Solution
Step 1 of 3
(a) The structure of ascorbic acid is as follows.
Let’s mark the four hydroxy groups in the ascorbic acid as follows.
The ascorbic acid has four different hydroxy groups .And they formed four conjugate bases by the deprotonation.
The following conjugated bases are formed.
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