Chiral compounds in Monochlorination of 2-Methyl Butane

• Monochlorination of 2-methyl butane involves the replacement of one hydrogen atom with a chlorine atom.
• There are four different positions in 2-methyl butane where the hydrogen atom can be replaced with a chlorine atom, leading to the formation of four different monochlorinated isomers.
• These isomers are:
1) 1-chloro-2-methylbutane
2) 2-chloro-2-methylbutane
3) 3-chloro-2-methylbutane
4) 4-chloro-2-methylbutane

Determining the number of Chiral Compounds

• A chiral compound is a molecule that is not superimposable on its mirror image.
• A molecule is chiral if it has a carbon atom that is attached to four different groups.
• In the case of 2-methyl butane, there is only one carbon atom that is attached to four different groups, which is the second carbon atom (the carbon atom next to the methyl group).
• Therefore, only the monochlorinated isomers that have the chlorine atom attached to the second carbon atom can be chiral.
• There are two such isomers, which are 2-chloro-2-methylbutane and 3-chloro-2-methylbutane.
• Each of these isomers can exist in two different enantiomeric forms (mirror images), which gives a total of four chiral compounds.

Answer: The correct answer is option C, 4. There are four chiral compounds possible on monochlorination of 2-methyl butane.