Chemistry - Which side of the C-O-C bond breaks in esters during hydrolysis in basic medium?

To answer this,Think about how an ester is formed.

In the formation of an ester, wherin you react an alcohol with an acid in presence of conc.$\ce{H2SO4}$

$\ce{RCOOH + R'OH -> RCOOR' + H2O}$

Now what we have found by replacing the oxygen with an isotope of oxygen is that

$\ce{RCOO'H + R''OH -> RCOOR'' + H2O'}$

What this reveals is that the acid loses an $\ce{OH- group}$ and the alcohol loses an $\ce{H+}$

So summing up, O atom stays with the carbon which is not attached to the $C=O$ group.

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