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NCERT Class XI Chemistry Hydrocarbons Solutions
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Question : 18 of 25
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Arrange benzene, n-hexane and ethyne in decreasing order of acidic behaviour. Also give reason for this behaviour.
Solution:
The decreasing order of acidity is:
Acidic strength of any compound is defined as its ability to release H atom as . This atom to which H is attached is highly electronegative. Such atoms tend to pull the bond pair of electrons towards themselves thereby polarising the bond and creating charge on H. In the compounds in question, the H is attached to carbon atom which does not have a very high electronegativity value. Moreover, the electronegativity of carbon is somewhat increased if the s-character of its hybridised orbitals is high. Greater is the s-character of carbon, greater is its electronegativity as a result of which, the bond pair of electrons of the C – H bond moves towards carbon atom, creating a partial positive charge on H and facilitating its release as . Based on this the order of acidic strength may be predicted as


| Hybridization of C | sp | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| % s - character | 50 % | 33 % | 25 % |
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