87 Unit 12: Carboxylic acids
A carboxylic acid is characterized by the presence of thecarboxyl group-COOH. The chemi-
cal reactivity of carboxylic acids is dominated by the very positive carbon, and the resonance
stabilization that is possible should the group lose a proton. These two factors contribute
both to acidity and to the group’s dominant chemical reaction: nucleophilic substitution.