The decreasing order of reactivity of the following alcohols towards esterification is: (i) Methyl alcohol (ii) Isopropyl alcohol (iii) Tertiary butyl alcohol (iv) Ethyl alcohol

Step-by-step solution

Esterification is a nucleophilic acyl substitution reaction where the alcohol acts as a nucleophile. The reactivity of an alcohol towards esterification depends on the steric hindrance around the hydroxyl group. As the size and branching of the alkyl group increase, steric hindrance increases, which decreases the rate of esterification. The general order of reactivity of alcohols towards esterification is: Methyl alcohol > Primary ( 1^ ) alcohol > Secondary ( 2^ ) alcohol > Tertiary ( 3^ ) alcohol. Classifying the