Lesson 17C.2

17C.2 Acyl chlorides, esters and their reactions Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Chemistry, Unit 17

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 17C.2, Acyl chlorides, esters and their reactions: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Chemistry (9CH0), Unit 17: Organic Chemistry II, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. What is the functional group of an acyl chloride?

    • -CCl, a carbon bonded to chlorine by a single bond
    • -COOCl, a carbonyl group bonded to a chlorine-oxygen group
    • -Cl, a chlorine atom bonded to a benzene ring
    • -COCl, a carbonyl group bonded to a chlorine atom

  2. What is produced when an acyl chloride reacts with water?

    • An alcohol and carbon dioxide
    • An ester and hydrogen chloride
    • A primary amine and sodium chloride
    • A carboxylic acid and hydrogen chloride

  3. What is produced when an acyl chloride reacts with an alcohol?

    • An ester and hydrogen chloride
    • An alkene and hydrogen chloride
    • An amide and water
    • A carboxylic acid and water

  4. What is produced when ethanoyl chloride reacts with concentrated ammonia?

    • An ester and hydrogen chloride, formed by reaction of the acyl group with the ammonia molecule present
    • A carboxylic acid and nitrogen gas, released when the ammonia reacts with the acyl chloride group
    • An amide, ethanamide, and ammonium chloride
    • A primary amine and water only, formed by reduction of the carbonyl group by the ammonia present

  5. What is the product when ethanoyl chloride reacts with a primary amine such as butylamine?

    • An N-substituted amide and hydrogen chloride
    • An ester and ammonia, formed by reaction with the amine group
    • A nitrile and water, formed by dehydration of the amide group
    • A carboxylic acid and an alkene, formed by elimination of HCl

  6. Why are acyl chlorides more reactive than carboxylic acids towards nucleophiles?

    • The chlorine atom is strongly electron-withdrawing, making the carbonyl carbon more electron-deficient
    • Acyl chlorides are ionic, so they dissolve more easily in all solvents and react faster with any nucleophile
    • Chlorine has a lone pair that makes the carbonyl oxygen more basic, so the molecule is easily protonated
    • The carbonyl group is absent in acyl chlorides in the normal sense, making them less stable than acids

  7. Which reagent is used to hydrolyse an ester in alkaline conditions?

    • Dilute hydrochloric acid at room temperature
    • Lithium tetrahydridoaluminate in dry ether
    • Sodium hydroxide solution, heated under reflux
    • Concentrated sulfuric acid with no water present

  8. What are the products of the alkaline hydrolysis of ethyl ethanoate?

    • Sodium ethanoate and ethanol
    • Ethanal and sodium hydroxide
    • Ethanol and ethanoyl chloride
    • Ethanoic acid and sodium ethanol

  9. Why does alkaline hydrolysis of an ester go to completion, unlike acidic hydrolysis?

    • The carboxylate ion formed is deprotonated and does not react back with the alcohol
    • The sodium hydroxide acts as a catalyst for the reverse esterification reaction, which speeds up the process
    • The alkaline conditions remove all the water from the reaction, so the ester cannot be reformed afterwards
    • The ester becomes more volatile in alkaline solution, so it distils away from the mixture as it forms

  10. What are the products of acidic hydrolysis of an ester?

    • A carboxylate salt and an alcohol, with the reaction being irreversible
    • An acyl chloride and water, with the reaction being irreversible
    • An amide and water, with the reaction being irreversible
    • A carboxylic acid and an alcohol, with the reaction being reversible

  11. What is the chemical name for the compound formed when ethanoyl chloride reacts with methanol?

    • Ethanoic methanol
    • Methyl ethanoate
    • Methyl ethanamide
    • Ethyl methanoate

  12. Which functional group is found in an amide?

    • -CONH-, a carbonyl group bonded to a nitrogen atom
    • -COOH, a carbonyl group bonded to a hydroxyl group
    • -CN, a carbon bonded to nitrogen by a triple bond
    • -CONH2 only in aromatic molecules

  13. A chemist wants to make an ester from ethanoyl chloride and an alcohol, without an acid catalyst. Why is this method preferred?

    • It is faster and not reversible, because the acyl chloride reacts completely with the alcohol
    • It requires heating under reflux for a long time, which is cheaper than the acid method in the lab
    • It produces a higher yield because the reaction is reversible and the equilibrium favours the ester product
    • It avoids the formation of hydrogen chloride as a by-product, which is the main reason it is chosen

  14. Which reagent is produced as a by-product when an acyl chloride reacts with an alcohol to form an ester?

    • Hydrogen chloride gas
    • Carbon dioxide gas
    • Sodium chloride solid
    • Water vapour only

  15. What is the structure of the ester formed from propanoyl chloride and ethanol?

    • Ethyl propanamide
    • Ethyl propanoate
    • Ethanoyl propanoate
    • Propyl ethanoate

  16. In the hydrolysis of an ester, which bond is broken?

    • The C=O double bond in the carbonyl group, which is broken to add the water molecule
    • The O-H bond of an alcohol already present, which is broken to release the acid
    • The C-H bond on the alkyl chain, which is broken by the hydroxide ion in the reaction
    • The C-O bond between the carbonyl carbon and the alkoxy oxygen

  17. What is the product when ethanoyl chloride is added to water?

    • Ethyl ethanoate and hydrogen
    • Ethanoic acid and hydrogen chloride
    • Ethanal and oxygen
    • Ethanol and carbon dioxide

  18. Which statement about ester hydrolysis in acid is correct?

    • It produces an amide and water only, with no equilibrium present
    • It is irreversible and gives a carboxylate salt as the main product
    • It is the reverse of esterification and gives an equilibrium mixture
    • It requires an acyl chloride as the starting material for the reaction

  19. Why is an acyl chloride often preferred to a carboxylic acid when preparing an amide?

    • Carboxylic acids form ionic salts with amines that cannot be separated from the amide by any method
    • Acyl chlorides react readily with ammonia or amines at room temperature, giving a good yield of amide
    • Acyl chlorides are less reactive, so side reactions are avoided and the product is easier to purify
    • Carboxylic acids cannot react with any nitrogen compound at all, so an acyl chloride is the only option

  20. Which product forms from the reaction of ethanoyl chloride with excess concentrated ammonia?

    • Ethanenitrile, with hydrogen gas formed
    • Ethanamide, with ammonium chloride also formed
    • Ethyl ethanoate, with ammonium ions formed
    • Ethanamine, with water formed

All Pearson Edexcel Chemistry quizzes