Give plausible explanation for each of the followin g: (a) Ortho - nitrophenol is more acidic than ortho - methoxyphenol. (b) Alcohols are easily protonated in comparison to phenols. (c ) The relative ease of dehydration of alcohols is tertiary > secondary > primary.

Give plausible explanation for each of the followin g: (a) Ortho - ni

1.	Give plausible explanation for each of the followin g: (a) Ortho - nitrophenol is more acidic than ortho - methoxyphenol. (b) Alcohols are easily protonated in comparison to phenols. (c ) The relative ease of dehydration of alcohols is tertiary > secondary > primary.
Answer» Solution :(a) Nitro group is electron withdrawing. It drawsthe electron pair between `O-H` towards itself. It helps in the RELEASE `H^(+)` ions. Methoxy group is electron-releasing because of lone pai of electrons on O. It does not help in the release of `H^(+)` ion. Therefore, o - nitrophenol is more acidic than o - methoxyphenol. (B) `R-overset(* )underset( *)O-H` (b) The lone pair of electrons on O in phenol is not readily available for protonation, because these electrons are drawn towards the benzene ring through resonance. No such thing happens in alcohols. Therefore, alcohols are easily protonated in comparison to PHENOLS. (c) The first step in the DEHYDRATION of alcohols is formation of carbocation. A tertiary carbocation is more stable than secondary carbocation which is more stable than primary carbocation. Therefore, the relative ease of dehydration of alcohols is : `"tertiary"gt"secondary"gt"primary"`