The correct statement regarding the comparison of staggered and eclipsed conformations of ethane is:

Question

Accepted Answer

1. **Conformations of Ethane:** Ethane exists in infinite conformations, with 'staggered' and 'eclipsed' being the extreme cases.
2. **Torsional Strain:** The repulsive interaction between the electron clouds of C-H bonds on adjacent carbon atoms is called torsional strain .
3. **Stability Analysis:**
   - **Staggered Conformation:** The hydrogen atoms are as far apart as possible. This minimizes the repulsion between electron clouds, resulting in **minimum energy** and **maximum stability**. The torsional strain is considered to be zero (or least) in this conformation .
   - **Eclipsed Conformation:** The hydrogen atoms are as close as possible. This maximizes electron cloud repulsion, resulting in **maximum torsional strain** (approx. 12.5 kJ mol$^{-1}$) and **least stability** .
4. **Conclusion:** The staggered conformation is more stable than the eclipsed conformation because the former has minimum (effectively no) torsional strain.

Step-by-Step Solution

Practice All CHEMISTRY Questions