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NEET levelSingle correct optionDifficulty 1 of 3o3011

$(CH X_{3}) X_{3} C - OH$ reacts with concentrated $HCl$ readily by SN1, but does not react with $NaCl$ in water. The role of the acid is to

Aconvert the substrate into a primary carbocation
Breduce the concentration of chloride ion
Cconvert the poor leaving group $OH X^{-}$ into the good leaving group $H X_{2} O$ by protonation
Dmake the oxygen atom a stronger nucleophile

Answer: C

Hydroxide is a strong base and a very poor leaving group. Protonation gives

(CH X_{3}) X_{3} C - OH X_{2} X^{+}

, which loses neutral water easily to give the tertiary carbocation that is then captured by chloride.

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