Carboxylic acids

At the end of this activity, students should be able to:
– describe the general structure of carboxylic acids
– name carboxylic acids according to the IUPAC rules
– explain how the physical properties of carboxylic acids are a result of the structure of the carboxyl group
– explain the acidic properties of carboxylic acids and discuss how the structure of an acid affects its acidic strength
– describe the properties of the salts of carboxylic acids and the typical reactions of carboxylic acids
– describe preparative methods for carboxylic acids
– indicate the natural sources of carboxylic acids.