text: Your compound A is ethanol: H3C-CH2OH.  It is an alcohol which can be used for sterilizing (killing germs) on surfaces.  Ever see an old western movie where they get a bottle of whiskey and dribble some over the knife blade before they start to cut open the wound to remove the arrow?  That's what ethanol can do.\n\nBy oxidizing ethanol, you can create ethanoic acid, otherwise known as acetic acid: H3C-C(O)-OH\n\nH3CCH2OH  + O2  ======>  H3C-C(O)OH  + H20