Which of the following compounds would be hydrolyzed by aqueous KOH most easily?
Show Hint
When hydrolyzing halides with aqueous KOH, compounds with alkene groups (as in option A) react more readily in substitution reactions due to their instability.
The compound that would be hydrolyzed most easily by aqueous KOH is \(\text{CH}_2 = \text{CH} - \text{Br}\) (Option A). This compound is a vinyl halide, where the halide (\(\text{Br}\)) is attached to an alkene (\(\text{C} = \text{C}\)). Aqueous KOH typically undergoes nucleophilic substitution or elimination reactions, and in this case, the vinyl halide undergoes substitution more readily due to the instability of vinyl halides. Therefore, \(\text{CH}_2 = \text{CH} - \text{Br}\) would be hydrolyzed most easily compared to the other alkyl halides listed in the options.