Question

Choose the correct acidity order of the following phenols.

• A. o-nitrophenol > p-chlorophenol > p-cresol > phenol
• B. p-nitrophenol > p-cresol > p-chlorophenol > phenol
• C. o-nitrophenol > p-chlorophenol >phenol> p-cresol
• D. p-nitrophenol >phenol> p-chlorophenol > p-cresol
• E. p-nitrophenol > p-cresol >phenol> p-chlorophenol

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

Electron attracting substituents like $-X$ or $-N{O}_2$ increase the acidity of phenol and eiectron releasing substituents like $-C{H}_3$ decrease the acidity. So, o-nitrophenol is the strongest acid in the given compounds. The correct order of acidity is o-nitrophenol > p-chlorophenol > phenol > p-cresol