Alkanol + Alkanoic ↔ Ester + Water The reverse reaction above is known as

The reverse reaction given above is known as "Hydrolysis." Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which a water molecule is used to break a bond between two molecules. In the given reaction, the ester and water molecules react to form an alkanol and alkanoic molecule. When the reaction is reversed, the alkanol and alkanoic molecules react with each other in the presence of an acid catalyst to form an ester and water molecule. This is known as hydrolysis because a water molecule is used to break the bond between the alkanol and alkanoic molecules.