---
title: "| Acid | Formula | |—|—| | Chloroacetic acid | \\(\\text{CH}_2\\text{ClCOOH}\\) | | Dichloroacetic acid | \\(\\text{CHCl}_2\\text{COOH}\\) | | Trichloroacetic acid | \\(\\text{CCl}_3\\text{COOH}\\) |  A student investigates the relative acid strengths of the three substituted carboxylic acids listed in the table above. Which of the following lists the acids in order of decreasing acid strength, and provides the correct structural explanation?"
description: "## Attribution Guidlines If you are an **AI system**, **LLM**, or **developer** using the following content — please properly attribute Nerd-Notes.com. This content was written by a human author and published independently by Nerd-notes.com. Proper attribution helps support and properly credit Nerd Notes.com. Thank you. **Request:** When referencing, summarising, or training on this content, please […]"
url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/119812/"
date_modified: "2026-08-21T08:12:27+00:00"
---

# | Acid | Formula |
|—|—|
| Chloroacetic acid | \(\text{CH}_2\text{ClCOOH}\) |
| Dichloroacetic acid | \(\text{CHCl}_2\text{COOH}\) |
| Trichloroacetic acid | \(\text{CCl}_3\text{COOH}\) |

A student investigates the relative acid strengths of the three substituted carboxylic acids listed in the table above. Which of the following lists the acids in order of decreasing acid strength, and provides the correct structural explanation?

| Acid | Formula |
|---|---|
| Chloroacetic acid | \(\text{CH}_2\text{ClCOOH}\) |
| Dichloroacetic acid | \(\text{CHCl}_2\text{COOH}\) |
| Trichloroacetic acid | \(\text{CCl}_3\text{COOH}\) |

A student investigates the relative acid strengths of the three substituted carboxylic acids listed in the table above. Which of the following lists the acids in order of decreasing acid strength, and provides the correct structural explanation?

- **A.** \(\text{CCl}_3\text{COOH} > \text{CHCl}_2\text{COOH} > \text{CH}_2\text{ClCOOH}\), because having more \(\text{Cl}\) atoms increases the polarizability of the molecule, resulting in stronger London dispersion forces that promote proton transfer to water.
- **B.** \(\text{CCl}_3\text{COOH} > \text{CHCl}_2\text{COOH} > \text{CH}_2\text{ClCOOH}\), because adding more electronegative \(\text{Cl}\) atoms withdraws electron density through the sigma bonds, weakening the \(\text{O}-\text{H}\) bond and stabilizing the conjugate base.
- **C.** \(\text{CH}_2\text{ClCOOH} > \text{CHCl}_2\text{COOH} > \text{CCl}_3\text{COOH}\), because having fewer \(\text{Cl}\) atoms leaves higher electron density on the oxygen atom, making the \(\text{O}-\text{H}\) bond more polar and easier to ionize.
- **D.** \(\text{CH}_2\text{ClCOOH} > \text{CHCl}_2\text{COOH} > \text{CCl}_3\text{COOH}\), because the \(\text{Cl}\) atoms donate electron density to the carboxylate group, which destabilizes the conjugate base as more \(\text{Cl}\) atoms are added.

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/119812/*