simplecrayola

Benzoic acid is almost insoluble while salicylic acid is sparingly soluble in certain temperatures. P. S. I'm sorry if I'm not taking the hint very quickly.

I've tried. Both were insoluble in water. This is due to the benzene rings being bulky making it more nonpolar. Am I right? Or have I missed something?

Sorry if it was unclear. I meant in 5% HCl solution.

I'm trying to come up with an explanation as to why benzoic acid is insoluble in 5% HCl solution while salicylic acid is soluble in HCl. From what I've read, HCl test is used to check for the presence of basic groups. So I was thinking benzoic acid is insoluble because of the COOH group present. However, salicylic acid also has a COOH group. Is the OH group in the salicylic acid enough to make it act as a base in its reaction with HCl?