Complex reactions may be consecutive reactions, reverse reactions or side reactions. Which of the following is an example of consecutive reactions?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Oxidation of ethane to CO2 and H2O
In consecutive reactions the product of one step becomes the reactant of the next.
Ethane is not oxidised to CO2 and H2O at once: it passes through an alcohol, then an aldehyde, then an acid.
The nitration of phenol, which gives two products side by side, is the example of side reactions; the decomposition of ammonium nitrite and the dissociation of hydrogen iodide are the examples of unimolecular and bimolecular elementary reactions.
NCERT (2026-27 edition):
3.2.3 Order of a Reaction – “…the reactions are called complex reactions. These may be consecutive reactions (e.g., oxidation of ethane to CO2 and H2O passes through a series of intermediate steps in which alcohol, aldehyde and acid are formed), reverse reactions and side reactions (e.g., nitration of phenol yields o-nitrophenol and p-nitrophenol).”