Questions: True or false: When one cyclohexane chair conformation converts to the other through a ring-flip, substituents that were above the ring are now below the ring and vice versa.

Solution Steps

Cyclohexane can adopt a chair conformation, which is the most stable due to minimized steric strain. In this conformation, substituents can occupy either axial (perpendicular to the ring) or equatorial (in the plane of the ring) positions.

A ring-flip in cyclohexane involves the conversion of one chair conformation to another. During this process, axial substituents become equatorial and vice versa. However, the relative positions (above or below the ring) of the substituents do not change.

The statement claims that substituents above the ring become below the ring and vice versa during a ring-flip. This is incorrect because the ring-flip only changes the axial/equatorial positions, not the relative above/below positions.

Final Answer