A statement of Assertion followed by a statement of Reason is given. Choose the correct answer out of the following options. Assertion: The Eclipsed and the Staggered conformations of Ethane continuously flip from one form to the other. Reason: The torsional barrier between the Conformers of Ethane has a high value of about 50 ~kJ / mol and this restricts free rotation around C - C bond.

Step-by-step solution

The eclipsed and staggered conformations of ethane are conformers that interconvert rapidly at room temperature due to the low energy barrier for rotation around the carbon-carbon single bond. Thus, the assertion that they continuously flip is correct. The torsional barrier for rotation in ethane is approximately 12.5 kJ/mol (or 3 kcal/mol ), not 50 kJ/mol . This energy barrier is low enough to allow for rapid rotation at room temperature, meaning rotation is not restricted. Therefore, the reason provided is incorr