Give two reactions that show the acidic nature of phenol. Compare the acidity of phenol with that of ethanol.

Explanation

The reactions showing acidic nature of phenol are :
(a) Reaction with sodium : Phenol reacts with active metals like sodium to liberate H, gas.

(b) Reaction with NaOH : Phenol dissolves in NaOH to form sodium phenoxide and water.

Phenol is more acidic than ethanol. This is due to the reason that phenoxide ion after the loss of a proton from phenol is stabilized reasonance, while ethoxide ion left after less of a proton from ethanol, is not.