What is the number of monochloro substituted derivatives formed from diphenyl methane?

Answer

To determine the number of monochloro substituted derivatives that can be formed from diphenylmethane, we will follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the Structure of Diphenylmethane
Diphenylmethane consists of two phenyl (benzene) rings attached to a central methane (CH) group. The structure can be represented as follows:

```
C
/ \
C6H5 C6H5
```

### Step 2: Identify Possible Substitution Sites
In diphenylmethane, there are several positions where chlorine (Cl) can be substituted:
1. The hydrogen atom on the central carbon (C) can be replaced by Cl.
2. The hydrogen atoms on the first phenyl ring can be replaced by Cl.
3. The hydrogen atoms on the second phenyl ring can be replaced by Cl.

### Step 3: Analyze Substitution on Phenyl Rings
Each phenyl ring has 5 hydrogen atoms that can be substituted. However, due to the symmetry of the molecule, substituting chlorine on one ring will yield the same compound if substituted on the corresponding position of the other ring.

### Step 4: Count Unique Monochloro Derivatives
1. **Substitution on the central carbon**:
- 1 derivative (C6H5-CHCl-C6H5)

2. **Substitution on the first phenyl ring**:
- 5 unique positions (C6H4Cl-CH-C6H5)

3. **Substitution on the second phenyl ring**:
- Since this is symmetrical to the first phenyl ring, it does not create new unique derivatives.

Thus, the total number of unique monochloro derivatives is:
- 1 (from central carbon) + 5 (from first phenyl ring) = 6 unique monochloro derivatives.

### Final Answer
The number of monochloro substituted derivatives formed from diphenylmethane is **6**.

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