Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R). Assertion (A): Reaction of alkyl halides with KCN yields alkyl cyanides as major products, whereas with AgCN it yields isocyanides. Reason (R): KCN is mainly covalent in nature, whereas AgCN is predominantly ionic and provides cyanide ions in solution. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropr

Step-by-step solution

Assertion (A) is correct. Alkyl halides react with KCN to form alkyl cyanides as the major product, while the reaction with AgCN yields alkyl isocyanides as the major product. Reason (R) is incorrect. The actual reason is that KCN is predominantly ionic and provides cyanide ions ( CN ⁻ ) in solution. Since both carbon and nitrogen can donate electron pairs, the attack occurs mainly through carbon because C - C bonds are stronger than C - N bonds. In contrast, AgCN is mainly covalent in nature, so only the nitrogen