Question #9a77f
1 Answer
Feb 7, 2018
Substitution reactions "switch out" functional groups. Where as an elimination reaction removes a functional group.
Explanation:
If you think in terms of something like Legos, when building a molecule its a step by step process of adding and removing functional groups and atoms all in hopes of making a final product. Lets say we had 3 bricks, red, green, and blue stacked on top of each other in that order. A substitution reaction would be taking off the blue brick and replacing it with lets say a red one. In contrast the elimination reaction simply removes the blue one and you end with just a red and a green.
In terms of O-Chem an elimination is used to create double bonds where as the substitution changes functional groups.
