What is the effect of increasing the steric hindrance on the reactivity of aldehydes and ketones?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the effect of increasing the steric hindrance on the reactivity of aldehydes and ketones?
Increases reactivity
Decreases reactivity
No effect
Reactivity depends on solvent
Increasing steric hindrance decreases the reactivity of ketones compared to aldehydes.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: What is the effect of increasing the steric hindrance on the reactivity of aldehydes and ketones?
Solution: Increasing steric hindrance decreases the reactivity of ketones compared to aldehydes.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand what steric hindrance means. It refers to the crowding around a reactive site in a molecule, which can slow down or prevent reactions.
Step 2: Identify the difference between aldehydes and ketones. Aldehydes have one hydrogen atom attached to the carbonyl carbon, while ketones have two carbon groups attached.
Step 3: Recognize that increasing steric hindrance means adding larger groups around the carbonyl carbon.
Step 4: Realize that in ketones, there are already two groups attached, which can create more steric hindrance compared to aldehydes.
Step 5: Conclude that as steric hindrance increases, it makes it harder for the molecule to react. This is why ketones, which have more steric hindrance, are less reactive than aldehydes.
