19. The Simple Compounds
                                   of Carbon
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       Questions

16. What types of chemical reaction do alkanes most commonly undergo? What are the principal reactions of alkenes?

17. Why is the E,, for alkane reactions inherently higher than for alkenes?

18. What are electrophiles and nucleophiles? In the base-catalyzed hydrolysis of ethyl acetate, is the attacking group an electrophile, or a nucleophile? What determines which end of the carbonyl C~O bond this group attacks?

19. What is Markovnikov's rule, and what does it tell us about the products formed in alkene reactions?

20. How is ethylene the basis for a large family of plastics? What is the corresponding parent molecule for rubbers?

21. What effect does cross-linking have on the physical properties of plastics and rubbers?

22. What are the cis and trans isomers of polybutadiene called? How does their molecular structure account for their differences in physical properties?

 

23. How does entropy contribute to the elasticity of rubber?

24. What is conjugation in molecules? What does it do to electronic energy levels?

25. What is aromaticity and how is it related to conjugation? What is the most common small aromatic molecule?

26. Why does the extent of delocalization in conjugated and aromatic molecules affect the light-absorbing properties of the molecule? How is this property put to use in living organisms? Name a linear conjugated molecule and a ring compound that are used as lightgathering molecules by green plants.

27. How does a change in the size of the delocalized system change the wavelength of light absorbed in green and purple bacteria? How does this absorption contribute to the names of these classes of bacteria?

28. Why is addition of a molecule across a double bond of the ring an unfavorable reaction for benzene, compared with substitution around the edge of the ring?

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