Question 243470

Ethanoic acid and ethanol react reversibly to form ethyl ethanoate and    water. In a closed system, a dynamic equilibrium is set up.

         Ethanoic acid + ethanol   ⇌   ethyl ethanoate

(i)This reaction is fairly slow, and is usually done in the presence of a small amount of concentrated sulphuric acid as a catalyst to speed it up. What effect would that have on the percentage of ethanoic acid converted into ethyl ethanoate? Explain your answer.

(ii)  If a lot of ethyl ethanoate was needed, why would it be a bad idea to use dilute sulphuric acid as the catalyst?