Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Radical Reactivity
Radical reactivity refers to the tendency of different types of carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds to undergo homolytic cleavage and form radicals. In the context of fluorination, primary (1°) and tertiary (3°) C-H bonds exhibit different reactivities due to the stability of the resulting radicals. Tertiary radicals are generally more stable than primary radicals, leading to a higher likelihood of fluorination occurring at 3° C-H bonds compared to 1° C-H bonds.
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Product Ratio Interpretation
The product ratio obtained from the radical fluorination (14:86) indicates the relative amounts of products formed from 1° and 3° C-H bond reactions. This ratio can be used to infer the relative reactivity of the C-H bonds involved. By analyzing the ratio, one can deduce how many times more reactive one type of bond is compared to another, which is essential for calculating the relative reactivity of 1° and 3° C-H bonds in this reaction.
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Calculating Relative Reactivity
To calculate the relative reactivity of 1° and 3° C-H bonds, one can use the product ratio derived from the radical fluorination. The formula involves comparing the number of products formed from each type of bond. By setting up a ratio based on the product distribution, one can derive a numerical value that quantifies how much more reactive one type of C-H bond is compared to the other, providing insight into the mechanism of the reaction.
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