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Chapter 11: Problem 2

What is the difference between aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The primary difference between aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons resides in their structure, stability, and reactivity. Aliphatic hydrocarbons have an open chain structure, less stable and more reactive. Aromatic hydrocarbons have a ring structure, more stable, and hence less reactive.

Step by step solution

01

Understand Hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbons are organic compounds consisting mainly of hydrogen and carbon atoms. There are three types of hydrocarbons, namely: alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes.
02

Defining Aliphatic Hydrocarbons

Aliphatic Hydrocarbons are open chain (linear or branched) hydrocarbons that can be either saturated (alkanes, which contain single bonds) or unsaturated (alkenes which contain one or more double bonds and alkynes which contain triple bonds between their carbon atoms).
03

Defining Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Aromatic hydrocarbons, or arenes, are hydrocarbons that have a ring structure, typically planar (flat) and follows Huckel's rule (4n+2 pi electrons) which means they display aromatic properties like stability.
04

Differences between Aliphatic and Aromatic Hydrocarbons

1. Structural difference: Aliphatic hydrocarbons are open chain, while Aromatic hydrocarbons are closed chain (cyclic). 2. Stability: Aromatic hydrocarbons are a lot more stable than Aliphatic hydrocarbons due to resonance (delocalized pi electrons). 3. Reactivity: As a consequence of their stability, aromatic hydrocarbons are less reactive in comparison to aliphatic hydrocarbons.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Why is it that alkanes and alkynes, unlike alkenes, have no geometric isomers?

Like ethylene, tetrafluoroethylene \(\left(\mathrm{C}_{2} \mathrm{~F}_{4}\right)\) undergoes polymerization reaction to form polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon). Draw a repeating unit of the polymer.

Use ethane as an example to explain the meaning of conformations. What are Newman projections? How do the conformations of a molecule differ from structural isomers?

Fats and oils are names for the same class of compounds, called triglycerides, which contain three ester groups in which \(\mathrm{R}, \mathrm{R}^{\prime},\) and \(\mathrm{R}^{\prime \prime}\) represent long hydrocarbon chains. (a) Suggest a reaction that leads to the formation of a triglyceride molecule, starting with glycerol and carboxylic acids (see p. 398 for structure of glycerol). (b) In the old days, soaps were made by hydrolyzing animal fat with lye (a sodium hydroxide solution). Write an equation for this reaction. (c) The difference between fats and oils is that at room temperature, the former are solid and the latter are liquids. Fats are usually produced by animals, whereas oils are commonly found in plants. The melting points of these substances are determined by the number of \(\mathrm{C}=\mathrm{C}\) bonds (or the extent of unsaturation) present- -the larger the number of \(\mathrm{C}=\mathrm{C}\) bonds, the lower the melting point and the more likely the substance is a liquid. Explain. (d) One way to convert liquid oil to solid fat is to hydrogenate the oil, a process by which some or all of the \(\mathrm{C}=\mathrm{C}\) bonds are converted to \(\mathrm{C}-\mathrm{C}\) bonds. This procedure prolongs shelf life of the oil by removing the more reactive \(\mathrm{C}=\mathrm{C}\) group and facilitates packaging. How would you carry out such a process (that is, what reagents and catalyst would you employ)? (e) The degree of unsaturation of oil can be determined by reacting the oil with iodine, which reacts with the \(\mathrm{C}=\mathrm{C}\) as follows: The procedure is to add a known amount of iodine to the oil and allow the reaction to go to completion. The amount of excess (unreacted) iodine is determined by titrating the remaining iodine with a standard sodium thiosulfate \(\left(\mathrm{Na}_{2} \mathrm{~S}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{3}\right)\) solution: $$\mathrm{I}_{2}+2 \mathrm{Na}_{2} \mathrm{~S}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{3} \longrightarrow \mathrm{Na}_{2} \mathrm{~S}_{4} \mathrm{O}_{6}+2 \mathrm{NaI}$$ The number of grams of iodine that reacts with \(100 \mathrm{~g}\) of oil is called the iodine number. In one case, \(43.8 \mathrm{~g}\) of \(\mathrm{I}_{2}\) were treated with \(35.3 \mathrm{~g}\) of corn oil. The excess iodine required \(20.6 \mathrm{~mL}\) of \(0.142 \mathrm{M} \mathrm{Na}_{2} \mathrm{~S}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{3}\) for neutralization. Calculate the iodine number of the corn oil.

Draw skeletal structures of the boat and chair forms of cyclohexane.
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