In fact, carboxylic acids are amongst the most acidic
organic compounds you have studied so far You already know why
phenols are more acidic than alcohols The higher acidity of carboxylic
acids as compared to phenols can be understood similarly The conjugate
base of carboxylic acid, a carboxylate ion, is stabilised by two equivalent
resonance structures in which the negative charge is at the more
electronegative oxygen atom