In: Chemistry
3. Which is more stable, cis- or trans- 2-butene? Offer an explanation why? Hint: you might try measuring the distance between non-bonded pairs of hydrogens. You should also look at the molecules in space filling mode. The latter method is perhaps most revealing. The van der Waals radius for a hydrogen atom is ~1.20Å.
4. Is 2-methylpropene more or less stable than the isomers of 2-butene? Offer an explanation why placing two alkyl groups on the same carbon has a different effect from placing the same two alkyl groups on different carbons of the double bond.