The reaction of ethyl acetate with water
The contact of ethyl acetate with water is one of the chemical changes. This reaction is also the way of hydrolysis.

When there is a catalyst in the environment, such as acid or base, it changes especially quickly. Catalyzed by acid, ethyl acetate encounters water, and the ester bond breaks, splitting into two. One is acetic acid, and the other is ethanol. Looking at the reaction formula, it is roughly as follows: $CH_3COOC_2H_5 + H_2O\ underset {\ triangle} {\ overset {H ^ +}\ rightleftharpoons} CH_3COOH + C_2H_5OH $. This reaction is not achieved overnight and is a reversible process. When heated, the activity of the molecule increases, and the reaction rate also advances. However, it is difficult to completely convert into acetic acid and ethanol, and often reaches an equilibrium state.

If a base is used as a catalyst, the reaction is different. The reaction between the base and the acetic acid formed makes it out of the equilibrium system, causing the reaction to go towards the formation of acetate and ethanol. The reaction can be written as: $CH_3COOC_2H_5 + NaOH\ longrightarrow CH_3COONa + C_2H_5OH $. This reaction is more thorough than that catalyzed by acid, because the base removes one of the products and breaks the equilibrium.

From this perspective, the reaction of ethyl acetate and water has different processes and results depending on the catalyst. The wonders of chemistry lie in the transformation of microscopic molecules and various macroscopic phenomena, which can be studied in physics and are also important to the chemical industry. They are also related to the preparation and transformation of substances.