Reactivity of Ethylene (1 Viewer)

[Lukybear]

Can some1 please exaplin to me why ethylene is reactive.
1.I know that its due to its double bone, and correct me if im wrong, one is weak and the other is strong,
2.That it also has high electron density at double bond.

Can some1 explain please? It would be a great help.

 

[LordPc]

I dont think you need to know this at all but I do recall something like one bond is strong but the other bond is a weak pi bond which is highly reactive

 

[Lukybear]

yea i thought so...

hopefully you wont need it tho

 

[iSplicer]

We don't need to know this at this stage, but if you insist, the active part is the double bond - it
Readily undergoes addition reactions. PS, what school do you go to?

 

[Pwnage101]

yeh the double bond is known as the pi bond (the other bond is a sigma)

 

[Trebla]

The double bond consists of a sigma bond and a pi bond. The sigma bond is the direct overlap of electrons to form the covalent bond, which is strong. The pi bond, has weak overlap of electrons because they are not in direct paths of each other. It's hard to explain without quantum theory.

See the diagram below of CH₂=CH₂
http://www.uwsp.edu/chemistry/tzamis/ch2ch2hybrid.gif
The thick green arrow represents the sigma bond and the two long arrows between the red and blue bits represent the pi bond. The red and blue parts are electrons and they barely overlap each other when you squeeze the two CH₂ halves together (hence the pi bond is weak) whereas the light blue parts are electrons which directly overlap in covalent bonding when you squeeze the two CH₂ halves together (hence the sigma bond is strong).

Don't worry too much if you don't get it. It's not something you're expected to know until you've been exposed to the quantum model of the atom.

 

[Tastegud]

Trebela is right about the sigma and pi bonds but REALLY

All you need to know, for a Band 6 answer, is that it has a reactive double bond.