Ethers are more reactive than alcohols towards electrophiles.

Solution

Chemistry ma’am · 4 steps

Ether oxygen has no H to lose after it grabs an electrophile, so ethers stay quiet where alcohols react.

1. Alcohols react easily. In an alcohol, the oxygen lone pair attacks the electrophile, and then the O–H proton leaves. This gives a neutral, stable product, for example CH₃CH₂OH + CH₃COCl → CH₃COOCH₂CH₃ + HCl.
2. Ethers get stuck. An ether, R-O-R, has no O–H bond. If its oxygen attacks an electrophile, it becomes a crowded positive oxonium ion with no proton to shed, so the reaction does not complete. The two alkyl groups also crowd the oxygen and hinder the attack.
3. Fairly inert. Ethers are therefore much less reactive than alcohols. They are cleaved only under harsh conditions, such as heating with concentrated HI. This inertness is why diethyl ether and THF are used as solvents, even for Grignard reagents.
4. So. Alcohols are more reactive than ethers towards electrophiles, so the statement is false.

The idea to keep. The O–H bond is what makes alcohols reactive: oxygen attacks, then sheds the proton. Ethers have no O–H, so they are fairly inert, which is exactly why we use them as solvents.

Answer from the NTA final answer key. Solution by PrepWiser.