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Multiple Choice

Among the following families, which is least soluble in water?

Aqueous solubility is governed by how well a molecule can interact with water through hydrogen bonding and, when possible, by forming charged species. Alcohols can both donate and accept hydrogen bonds, which strongly stabilizes water interactions; amines can accept and donate hydrogen bonds and can be protonated to form ammonium, increasing solubility; carboxylic acids are highly polar and can ionize to carboxylates in water, boosting solubility further. Ethers, however, can accept hydrogen bonds from water but cannot donate them, and they don’t readily ionize to a charged form. This weaker hydrogen-bonding interaction and lack of ionizable groups make ethers the least soluble in water among these families.

Aqueous solubility is governed by how well a molecule can interact with water through hydrogen bonding and, when possible, by forming charged species. Alcohols can both donate and accept hydrogen bonds, which strongly stabilizes water interactions; amines can accept and donate hydrogen bonds and can be protonated to form ammonium, increasing solubility; carboxylic acids are highly polar and can ionize to carboxylates in water, boosting solubility further. Ethers, however, can accept hydrogen bonds from water but cannot donate them, and they don’t readily ionize to a charged form. This weaker hydrogen-bonding interaction and lack of ionizable groups make ethers the least soluble in water among these families.