The delocalization of charge by resonance has a very powerful effect on the reactivity of organic molecules, enough to account for the difference of over 12 pK a units between ethanol and acetic acid ...The delocalization of charge by resonance has a very powerful effect on the reactivity of organic molecules, enough to account for the difference of over 12 pK a units between ethanol and acetic acid (and remember, pK a is a log expression, so we are talking about a difference of over 10 12 between the acidity constants for the two molecules).
