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MolSynapse / Question bank / Organic Reaction Mechanisms IV: Elimination / Substitution vs elimination competition
JEE Main levelSingle correct optionDifficulty 2 of 3o4154

Raising the temperature of a reaction of a secondary alkyl halide with a base increases the proportion of elimination relative to substitution mainly because

  1. Aelimination has the higher activation energy and gives more product molecules, so it gains more from a rise in temperature
  2. Bsubstitution has the higher activation energy
  3. Cthe halide becomes a better nucleophile at high temperature
  4. Dthe base becomes weaker at high temperature

Answer: A

Elimination breaks an extra C-H bond (higher activation energy) and produces an extra molecule (HB), so its entropy change is more positive. Both effects make the elimination rate rise faster with temperature than substitution.
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