Cyclic alkanes with greater angle strain are always:

Correct answer: C. More reactive

  • A. More stable
  • B. Less energetic
  • C. More reactive
  • D. Obey the general formula of normal alkanes

Explanation

Angle strain occurs when bond angles deviate from the ideal bond angles to achieve maximum bond strength in a specific chemical conformation. Angle strain typically affects cyclic molecules, which lack the flexibility of acyclic molecules.It occurs in cycloalkanes because the carbons in cycloalkanes are sp3 hybridized, which means that they do not have the expected ideal bond angle of 109.5°; this causes an increase in the potential energy because of the desire for the carbons to be at an ideal 109.5°. Bond angle strain causes a ring to have a poor overlap between the atoms, resulting in weak and reactive C-C bonds. An eclipsed spatial arrangement of the atoms on the cycloalkanes results in high energy and hence less stability and more reactivity.

This question appeared on the ETEA MDCAT 2018 paper, which you can sit online with every answer explained.

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About Alkanes

Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons containing only carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen single bonds, with the general formula CnH2n+2 for open chains. Their structure, isomerism, IUPAC nomenclature, physical properties, combustion, free-radical halogenation and conformations are covered, including the difference between substitution in alkanes and addition in unsaturated hydrocarbons.

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