Concept:Heating a carboxylic acid with ammonia first forms an ammonium salt, which upon strong heating dehydrates to form an amide.
Formula:$$ \text{CH}_3\text{COOH} + \text{NH}_3 \longrightarrow \text{CH}_3\text{COO}^-\text{NH}_4^+ \xrightarrow{\Delta} \text{CH}_3\text{CONH}_2 + \text{H}_2\text{O} $$
Solution:- Acetic acid and ammonia initially undergo an acid-base reaction to form ammonium acetate.
- Applying heat causes the thermal decomposition (dehydration) of ammonium acetate.
- A water molecule (\(\text{H}_2\text{O}\)) is lost, yielding acetamide (\( \text{CH}_3\text{CONH}_2 \)).
Why other options are incorrect:The reaction is a dehydration, so water (\(\text{H}_2\text{O}\)) is the byproduct, not \(\text{CO}_2\), \(\text{H}_2\), or \(\text{HCl}\).
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