for the compounds phenol (I) 
-cresol (II) 
-nitrophenol (III) and 
-nitrophenol (IV) the order of acidity is
IV 
I 
II
IV 
III 
II 
I 
III 
IV
III 
I 
II
Text Solution
Verified by ExpertsD
Acidic compounds are the compound that can donate a proton easily.
The compound that donates more protons possesses high acidic strength.
(I) In phenol, we have a 
group on the benzene ring. It acts as an electron-withdrawing. It is acidic.
(II) In 
-cresol, has 
group on phenol which decreases the acidic strength since it is an electron donating group.
(III) In 
-nitrophenol, has 
on 
-position, i.e. on 3 position of phenol.
is an electron withdrawing group, it increases the acidic strength of the compound. Therefore, the acidic strength of this compound will be higher than the above two compounds.
(IV) In 
-nitrophenol has 
on 
-position, i.e. on 4 position of phenol. 
is an electron withdrawing group, it increases the acidic strength of the compound.
They also show intermolecular hydrogen bonding but the intermolecular hydrogen bonding is not easily possible in 
-nitrophenol. Thus, 
-nitrophenol is more acidic than 
-nitrophenol.
The decreasing order of acidity is IV 
III 
I 
II.
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