Consider the following statements: I. Soaps are sodium or potassium salts of long-chain carboxylic acids. II. The properties of catenation and isomerism in the element carbon are attributed to existence of large number of organic compounds than inorganic compounds. III. Carbon dioxide is acidic but carbon monoxide is neutral molecule. Which of the statements given above are correct?

Statement I: Soaps are indeed sodium (hard soaps) or potassium (soft soaps) salts of long-chain fatty acids such as stearic, palmitic and oleic acid — correct. Statement II: Carbon's unique ability to catenate (form long C–C chains) and exhibit isomerism (structural and stereo) is precisely why millions of organic compounds exist, far exceeding inorganic compounds — correct. Statement III: CO2 is an acidic oxide (dissolves in water to give carbonic acid, reacts with bases to give carbonates), while CO is a neutral oxide (does not react with acids or bases under ordinary conditions) — correct. All three statements are correct.