JEE Main 2026 — Apr 2, Shift 1 — Chemistry solution

JEE Main2026Apr 2, Shift 1Chemistry

Given below are two statements :

Statement (I) : Benzyl chloride reacts faster in $S_{N} 1$ mechanism than ethyl chloride.

Statement (II) : Ethyl carbocation intermediate is less stabilized by hyperconjugation than benzyl carbocation by resonance.

In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below :

A
Both Statement I and Statement II are true
B
Both Statement I and Statement II are false
C
Statement I is true but Statement II is false
D
Statement I is false but Statement II is true

Solution

$S_{N} 1$ reactivity tracks carbocation stability. The benzyl cation $P h C H_{2}^{+}$ is stabilised by resonance with the aromatic ring (delocalisation over the ortho and para positions), while the ethyl cation $C H_{3} C H_{2}^{+}$ relies only on weak hyperconjugation from three C–H bonds.

Hence benzyl cation is much more stable and benzyl chloride ionises (and reacts in $S_{N} 1$ ) faster than ethyl chloride. Both statements are correct.

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