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Unsymmetrical Alkene

  • Page ID
    43015
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    An unsymmetrical alkene is an alkene in whose molecule the pair of ligands on one doubly bonded carbon is different from that on the other.

    eg. 1:

    unsymmetricalalkene1.png

    In 1, one doubly bonded carbon bears two methyl groups and the other a methyl group and a hydrogen atom. Thus, 1 is an unsymmetrical alkene.

    eg. 2:

    unsymmetricalalkene2.png

    In 2, one doubly bonded carbon bears two methyl groups and the other a methyl group and an ethyl group. Thus, 2 is an unsymmetrical alkene.

    eg. 3:

    unsymmetricalalkene3.png

    In 3, one doubly bonded carbon bears a methyl group and a hydrogen atom and the other an ethyl group and a propyl group. Thus, 3 is an unsymmetrical alkene.

    In an organic molecule, a carbon-carbon double bond in which the carbon atoms bear different pairs of ligands is called an unsymmetrical double bond.

    eg:

    unsymmetricalalkene4.png

    see also symmetrical alkene


    This page titled Unsymmetrical Alkene is shared under a All Rights Reserved (used with permission) license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gamini Gunawardena via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

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