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JEE Advanced 2018 Paper 2 · Chemistry · General Organic Chemistry and Isomerism · medium

Methylcyclobutane undergoes free-radical monochlorination at every distinct type of hydrogen. The total number of different monochloro products…

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Methylcyclobutane undergoes free-radical monochlorination at every distinct type of hydrogen. The total number of different monochloro products, counting every stereoisomer (enantiomers and diastereomers) separately, is ______.
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Answer: 8

Methylcyclobutane has four types of hydrogen, so consider chlorination at each position. (i) The methyl group gives (chloromethyl)cyclobutane, which is achiral: 1 product. (ii) Ring carbon C1 (bearing the methyl) gives 1-chloro-1-methylcyclobutane, also achiral: 1 product. (iii) Ring carbon C2 gives 1-chloro-2-methylcyclobutane, in which C1 and C2 are both stereocentres and the two substituents differ, so there are 22=42^2=4 stereoisomers (cis and trans, each as a pair of enantiomers). (iv) Ring carbon C3 gives 1-chloro-3-methylcyclobutane, where the plane of symmetry through C1 and C3 makes both carbons non-stereogenic centres and only cis and trans geometric isomers exist: 2 products. The total is 1+1+4+2=81+1+4+2=8.
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