Question

Propane molecule on chlorination under photochemical condition gives two di-chloro products, "x" and "y". Amongst "x" and "y", "x" is an optically active molecule. How many tri-chloro products (consider only structural isomers) will be obtained from "x" when it is further treated with chlorine under the photochemical condition?

• A. 4
• B. 2
• C. 5
• D. 3

Hint:

Optically active compounds are those that have chiral centers. In this case, the addition of chlorine at various positions leads to a variety of structural isomers.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

When propane undergoes chlorination under photochemical conditions, it can produce two di-chloro products, "x" and "y". The key detail in this question is that molecule "x" is optically active. For a molecule to be optically active, it must possess at least one chiral center, which implies that the two substituents on one of the carbon atoms in "x" are different.
The chlorination process results in the addition of chlorine atoms at various positions on the molecule. Given that "x" is optically active, it must have two different substituents, which means the molecule is asymmetric. As the molecule undergoes further chlorination, the possible products depend on how chlorine atoms are added to the available positions, leading to different structural isomers.
Thus, when "x" undergoes further chlorination, 4 structural isomers are possible for the tri-chloro product.
Therefore, the total number of tri-chloro products obtained from "x" is 4.