Outline the nucleophilic addition-elimination mechanism for the reaction of an acyl chloride with water to form a carboxylic acid.

The nucleophilic addition-elimination mechanism involves the nucleophile (water) attacking the carbonyl carbon of the acyl chloride, forming a tetrahedral intermediate. This intermediate then collapses, expelling the chloride ion and forming the carboxylic acid. This answer is anchored to Carboxylic acids, esters and acyl derivatives (A-level only).

The nucleophilic addition-elimination mechanism involves the nucleophile (water) attacking the carbonyl carbon of the acyl chloride, forming a tetrahedral intermediate. This intermediate then collapses, expelling the chloride ion and forming the carboxylic acid. is the best answer because it directly supports the AQA A-Level Chemistry objective to outline nucleophilic addition-elimination mechanisms for acyl derivatives. This reasoning is anchored to Carboxylic acids, esters and acyl derivatives (A-level only) in Carboxylic acids and derivatives (A-level only), and it separates nucleophilic addition-elimination from similar A-Level ideas rather than relying on a vague recall statement. Other options are weaker if they use the wrong evidence, calculation, mechanism, observation, unit, or conclusion for this subtopic.