Explanatory notes
… the carboxylic acids which contain the characteristic function (–COOH), called the carboxyl group. In theory, the … hydrated carboxylic acids (RCOOH + H 2 O = RC(OH) 3 ). In practice, however, these do not exist in the free state, but … (–COOH) (monocarboxylic acids or polycarboxylic acids, respectively). If the hydroxyl group (–OH) is removed, the …