Arrange : Water, ethanol and phenol in increasing order of acidity and give reasons for your answer.

Sure, here's the arrangement of water, ethanol, and phenol in increasing order of acidity:

Ethanol (CH3CH2OH)
Water (H2O)
Phenol (C6H5OH)
Now, let's discuss the reasons:

Ethanol: Ethanol is the least acidic among the three. Its acidity is primarily due to the presence of the hydroxyl (-OH) group, which can donate a proton (H⁺) to a base. However, the presence of the alkyl chain (-CH2CH3) in ethanol reduces the electron density on the oxygen atom, making it less willing to donate a proton compared to water and phenol.

Water: Water is more acidic than ethanol because it lacks the alkyl chain, allowing for better stabilization of the resulting hydronium ion (H3O⁺) after donating a proton. Water can donate a proton to form a hydronium ion, but its acidity is still relatively low compared to phenol due to the absence of aromaticity in its structure.

Phenol: Phenol is the most acidic among the three. This is because phenol's aromatic ring stabilizes the negative charge on the oxygen atom of the phenoxide ion (formed after donating a proton), through resonance. The delocalization of the negative charge over the aromatic ring makes it easier for phenol to lose a proton, thus making it more acidic than both water and ethanol.