Chapter 10 Practice Problems
Answers for these practice problems are on the next page.
A good approach is to answer all of the questions on a piece of paper and then check your answers. This avoids accidentally seeing the answer(s) for questions you have not done yet.
Because this chapter’s primary emphasis is reaction outcomes (instead of concepts) the style of questions has adjusted to match.
Q10.1: Class each of the following groups as an EWG or EDG; o+p-directing or m-directing; and activating or deactivating. For practice purposes you should attempt to do this without the use of a table/“cheat sheet”.
Q10.2: For each set of starting materials determine which would undergo an SEAr reaction the fastest and which would undergo an SEAr reaction the slowest.
Q10.3: Below is a starting material and two possible sets of reactions to transform it into the desired product. Which of the two routes will generate the product in the highest overall yield? Write and/or draw a brief explanation for why.
Q10.4: For each reaction draw the expected major organic product(s). The products must be drawn as line-angle structures. Assume issues such as multiple additions in Friedel-Crafts, catalyst incompatibilities, and side products do not occur.
Q10.5: A reaction equation is given below. Write a brief sentence explaining which compound is the catalyst and how the catalyst will increase the reaction rate. Then propose a reasonable mechanism for the reaction. Show all necessary intermediates, curved arrows, lone pairs, and formal charges. Remember to regenerate the catalyst at the end of the reaction.
