When Ethylchloride and alcoholic KOH are heated, the compound obtained is

Options

A. `C_(2)H_(4)`
B. `C_(2)H_(2)`
C. `C_(6)H_(6)`
D. `C_(2)H_(6)`

Answer

To determine the compound obtained when ethyl chloride (C2H5Cl) is heated with alcoholic KOH, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Identify the Reactants
The reactants in this reaction are:
- Ethyl chloride (C2H5Cl)
- Alcoholic KOH (potassium hydroxide in alcohol)

### Step 2: Understand the Reaction Type
Alcoholic KOH is a strong base and promotes elimination reactions (dehydrohalogenation) in alkyl halides. In this case, ethyl chloride will undergo a beta-elimination reaction.

### Step 3: Identify the Structure of Ethyl Chloride
Ethyl chloride can be represented as:
- CH3-CH2-Cl

Here, the carbon atoms are numbered as follows:
- The carbon attached to the chlorine (Cl) is the alpha carbon (C1).
- The adjacent carbon (C2) is the beta carbon.

### Step 4: Identify the Beta Hydrogen
In the ethyl chloride molecule, the beta carbon (C2) has two hydrogen atoms (H). These are the beta hydrogens that can be eliminated during the reaction.

### Step 5: Mechanism of the Reaction
1. The hydroxide ion (OH-) from alcoholic KOH acts as a base and abstracts one of the beta hydrogens from the beta carbon (C2).
2. This leads to the formation of a double bond between the alpha carbon (C1) and beta carbon (C2), while the chlorine atom (Cl) is eliminated as a chloride ion (Cl-).

### Step 6: Write the Reaction
The reaction can be summarized as follows:
- CH3-CH2-Cl + KOH (alcoholic) → CH2=CH2 + KCl + H2O

### Step 7: Identify the Product
The product formed is ethylene (C2H4), which can be represented as:
- CH2=CH2

### Final Answer
The compound obtained when ethyl chloride is heated with alcoholic KOH is **C2H4 (ethylene)**.

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