When a mixture of ethanol and methanol is heated in the presence of concentreated `H_2SO_4`, the resulting organic product/ products is/ are

Options

A. `CH_(3) OC_(2)H_(5)`
B. `CH_(3)OCH_(3) and C_(2) H_(5) OC_(2) H_(5)`
C. `CH_(3) OC_(2) H_(5) and CH_(3) OCH_(3)`
D. `CH_(3) OC_(2) H_(5), CH_(3) OCH_(3) and C_(2) H_(5) OC_(2) H_(5)`

Answer

To solve the problem of what organic products are formed when a mixture of ethanol and methanol is heated in the presence of concentrated sulfuric acid, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the Reactants
The reactants in this scenario are:
- Ethanol (C2H5OH)
- Methanol (CH3OH)

### Step 2: Identify the Role of Concentrated Sulfuric Acid
Concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4) acts as a strong acid and a dehydrating agent. It can protonate the alcohols, leading to the formation of carbocations.

### Step 3: Formation of Carbocations
When ethanol and methanol are heated with concentrated sulfuric acid:
- Ethanol can form an ethyl carbocation (C2H5+).
- Methanol can form a methyl carbocation (CH3+).

### Step 4: Possible Reactions
The carbocations can react with each other and with the alcohols to form ethers. The possible reactions are:
1. Ethyl carbocation (C2H5+) reacts with methanol (CH3OH) to form methyl ethyl ether (C2H5OCH3).
2. Ethyl carbocation (C2H5+) reacts with ethanol (C2H5OH) to form diethyl ether (C2H5OC2H5).
3. Methyl carbocation (CH3+) reacts with methanol (CH3OH) to form dimethyl ether (CH3OCH3).

### Step 5: Summary of Products
From the above reactions, the products formed are:
- Methyl ethyl ether (C2H5OCH3)
- Diethyl ether (C2H5OC2H5)
- Dimethyl ether (CH3OCH3)

### Final Answer
The resulting organic products are methyl ethyl ether, diethyl ether, and dimethyl ether.

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