Question

The terms ortho, meta, and para are used to describe ______.

a) The number of carbon atoms in an aromatic compound
b) The arrangement of two substituents on a benzene ring
c) The arrangement of rings in an aromatic compound
d) The number of substituents on a benzene ring

Answer 1

The terms ortho, meta, and para are used to describe the arrangement of two substituents on a benzene ring.

Step-by-step explanation:

The terms ortho, meta, and para are used to describe the arrangement of two substituents on a benzene ring. In the systematic nomenclature of aromatic compounds, the positions of groups attached to the aromatic ring are indicated by numbers, starting with 1 and proceeding around the ring in the direction that produces the lowest numbers. However, in common nomenclature, the prefixes ortho-, meta-, and para- are used to describe the relative positions of the substituents on the benzene ring.

To illustrate, if two substituents are in the ortho position, they are on adjacent carbon atoms. The meta positioning refers to a 1,3 arrangement, and the para positioning refers to a 1,4 arrangement of the substituents on the benzene ring. These prefixes are commonly used in naming di-substituted benzene rings.