Reactions of Alkyl Halides
Consider the molecule, bromomethane. The halide of bromomethane is more electronegative than the carbon atom to which it is attached. This makes the carbon atom partially positive, so a negatively charged nucleophile will attack it. This is the basis of the reactivity of alkyl halides.
There are four reactions for alkyl halides that we will be learning about for the remainder of this chapter. They come in two main types, substitutions and eliminations.
Substitutions
Substitutions are when one group replaces another, much like when a substitute teacher replaces a regular teacher who is absent from school.
Eliminations
When something is eliminated, that means something is removed or expelled. When we eliminate waste from our bodies, we remove or expel the waste. In organic chemistry, eliminations are two groups being removed from a compound (H and X in this case) forming a π bond.
7. Label each of the following reactions as either a substitution or an elimination.
7.
