Mechanism of Acid Hydrolysis I wanted to ask a question about acid catalysed hydrolysis. 

I learnt in an introductory course to Physical Organic Chemistry that there are different ways that an ester can be hydrolysed acidically:


  $\ce{A_{AC}1}$ 
  $\ce{A_{AC}2}$ 
  $\ce{A_{AL}1}$ 
  $\ce{A_{AL}2}$ 


There are different ways that esters can be hydrolysed:
– catalysis by acids (A) or bases (B)
– cleavage of acyl-oxy (AC) or alkyl-oxy (AL) bonds
– the molecularity of the key step (1 or 2).

Using Acids (A) there are 4 different ways to hydrolyse an ester using acid catalysis:


  $\ce{A_{AC}1}$ Cleavage of Acyl-Oxy Bond Unimolecular
  $\ce{A_{AC}2}$ Cleavage of Acyl-Oxy Bond Dimolecular
  $\ce{A_{AL}1}$ Cleavage of Alkyl-Oxy Bond Unimolecular
  $\ce{A_{AL}2}$ Cleavage of Alkyl-Oxy Bond Dimolecular


An explanation can be found here. 

But consider this question, with the marking scheme given below:


Our professor did not mention anything regarding how to choose which type of hydrolysis takes place. From this question, he states and goes further onto mention that either $\ce{A_{AC}1}$ or $\ce{A_{AC}2}$ can take place, but no other. 

I'm looking at these structures and thinking

Why can't $\ce{A_{AL}1}$ or $\ce{A_{AL}2}$ take place for these two? Why must it be the two given in them marking scheme?
You should have read your explanation material more carefully! It clearly states that $A_{AL}2$ has not even been observed in acid hydrolysis due to water being a poor nucleophile in an $S_N2$ process. As for $A_{AL}1$, that only happens when the esterified radical can leave as a stable carbocation which, in this case methyl is a very very unstable carbocation.