Video Transcript
Which of the following general word
equations correctly describes the substitution reaction of an alkane? (A) Alkane reacts to produce alkene
plus alkane. (B) Alkane plus halogen react to
produce haloalkane plus hydrogen halide. (C) Alkane plus halogen react to
produce dihaloalkane. (D) Alkane plus oxygen react to
produce carbon dioxide plus water. (E) Alkane plus hydrogen halide
react to produce haloalkane plus water.
To answer this question, we need to
determine which of the general word equations correctly describes the substitution
reaction of an alkane. A substitution reaction is a type
of reaction where a part of a molecule is removed and replaced by something
else. Alkanes are saturated
hydrocarbons. This means that they only contain
single-bonded carbon and hydrogen atoms.
Alkanes like methane can undergo a
substitution reaction when reacted with halogens like chlorine. This reaction is typically carried
out by shining ultraviolet light through the reaction mixture. Over the course of this reaction, a
hydrogen atom in the alkane is removed and is replaced by a halogen atom. This specific substitution reaction
produces chloromethane and hydrogen chloride. This substitution reaction also
works with different alkanes and halogens.
We can see from the examples that
in the substitution reaction of an alkane, an alkane reacts with a halogen. Therefore, we can eliminate answer
choices (A), (D), and (E).
The products of the substitution
reaction of an alkane are a haloalkane and a hydrogen halide. Therefore, answer choice (B) is the
correct answer. So the general word equation that
correctly describes the substitution reaction of an alkane is answer choice (B). Alkane plus halogen react to
produce haloalkane plus hydrogen halide.
