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T/F: a Wittig reagent bears a net charge.

User Vivek Chib
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Final answer:

A Wittig reagent is neutrally charged because the negative charge on the carbon atom is balanced by a positive charge on the phosphorus atom.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that a Wittig reagent bears a net charge is false. A Wittig reagent is a phosphonium ylide, commonly used in organic chemistry for the synthesis of alkenes. It consists of a phosphorus atom bonded to four substituents, one of which is a carbon atom with a negative charge. This charge is balanced by a positive charge on the phosphorus, making the overall molecule neutral. In the Wittig reaction, the negatively charged carbon atom reacts with the positively charged carbon atom of a carbonyl compound to form a new carbon-carbon double bond.

For the second question, when two neutral objects are rubbed against each other and one gains a net charge of 3e, it means the other object will have lost 3e. Charge cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be transferred. So, the second object will have a net charge of -3e, assuming no other charges were present before the interaction.

The statement about LiF (lithium fluoride) is incorrect. In LiF, the lithium atom loses an electron and acquires a positive charge, while the fluorine atom gains an electron and acquires a negative charge. This is because fluorine has a higher electronegativity than lithium and thus attracts electrons more strongly.

User Angoru
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