What is the effect of substituents on the reactivity of aromatic compounds?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the effect of substituents on the reactivity of aromatic compounds?
All substituents are deactivating
Some are activating and some are deactivating
All are activating
None affect reactivity
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the effect of substituents on the reactivity of aromatic compounds?
Step 1: Understand what aromatic compounds are. They are special types of cyclic compounds that have a ring structure and follow Huckel's rule.
Step 2: Learn about substituents. Substituents are groups of atoms that replace hydrogen atoms on the aromatic ring.
Step 3: Identify the two types of substituents: electron-donating groups (EDGs) and electron-withdrawing groups (EWGs).
Step 4: Know that electron-donating groups (like -OH or -CH3) make the aromatic ring more reactive towards electrophiles. This is called activation.
Step 5: Understand that electron-withdrawing groups (like -NO2 or -CN) make the aromatic ring less reactive towards electrophiles. This is called deactivation.
Step 6: Realize that the position of the substituent on the ring (ortho, meta, or para) can also affect the reactivity.