Question

Which of the following represents saponification process reaction? M represents an alkali metal.

(a) R-COOH+ M-OH→ M-COOR +  H2O

(b) M-COOH +R-OH → R-COOM + H2O

(c) R-COOH+ M-OH → R-COOM + H2O

(d) M-COOH + R-OH → M-COOR + H2O

The question was posed to me in an interview for internship.

This is a very interesting question from Natural Products topic in chapter Natural Products of Chemical Technology

Answer 1

The correct option is (c) R-COOH+ M-OH → R-COOM + H2O

The explanation is: Saponification is a process used for the production of soap. As soap is formed by conversion of fat into a fatty acid on reacting with alkali, the correct reaction is c. Fatty acid R-COOH reacts with an alkali M-OH to produce soap  R-COOM  and water H2O.