Final answer:
Equatorial attacks result in a more stable alcohol position due to less steric strain, while axial attacks produce alcohol in a less stable position due to steric interactions with axial substituents. The correct answer indicates that none of the given options (a-d) correctly matches the stability order of equatorial being more stable than axial.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question pertains to the stability of alcohols when they are in the axial versus equatorial position. In cyclohexane ring structures, there are two different types of positions that substituents can occupy, which are axial and equatorial.
Due to steric strain, a bulky group is more stable in the equatorial position rather than the axial position. This is because in the axial position, the group would experience destabilizing interactions with other axial substituents on the same side of the cyclohexane ring, which are particularly pronounced for bulky groups. Conversely, equatorial substituents do not have the same degree of steric interactions, thus making the equatorial position more stable.
Equatorial attacks produce the alcohol in the more stable position, whereas axial attacks result in the alcohol being in the less stable position. With this in mind, the correct answer to the question is: Equatorial attacks produce the alcohol in the equatorial position, which is more stable, and axial attack produces the alcohol in the axial position, which is less stable. Unfortunately, none of the options provided (a, b, c, d) match this correct answer; they seem to imply a comparison of first and second positions rather than axial and equatorial.