Question

How do you write the balanced chemical equation for the acid hydrolysis of methyl butanoate?

Answer 1

`"C"_3"H"_7"COOCH"_3 + "H"_2"O/H"^+ rarr "C"_3"H"_7"COOH" + "CH"_3"OH"`

Explanation:

When we talk about the acid hydrolysis of an ester, we really mean just adding water to that ester (using an acid catalyst) and breaking the ester bond (`"COO"`) to form an alcohol and a carboxylic acid.