Arrange water, ethanol and phenol in increasing order of acidity and give reason for your answer.

Explanation

The increasing order of acidity : ethanol `lt` water `lt` phenol,
Explanation : Ethanol `(C_(2)H_(5)toO-H)` is a water acid than water (H-O-H) due to the +I effect of ethyl group. As a reuslt, the release of `H^(+)` ion becomes difficult in ethanol. Phenol is comparatively a stronger acid because of resonance exhibited by both phenol and the phenate ion which is left after the release of `H^(+)` ion. For details, consult section 16