Arrange the following compounds in decreasing order of their reactivity towards NH ₃ : (I) (II) (III) CH ₃ COCl

Step-by-step solution

The reaction of these compounds with NH ₃ is an example of nucleophilic acyl substitution. The reactivity of acid derivatives towards nucleophilic substitution depends on the leaving group ability. A weaker base is a better leaving group. The leaving groups for the given compounds are: (I) Acetic anhydride: Acetate ion ( CH ₃ COO ⁻ ) (II) Methyl acetate: Methoxide ion ( CH ₃ O ⁻ ) (III) Acetyl chloride: Chloride ion ( Cl ⁻ ) The order of basicity of these leaving groups is: Cl ⁻ Therefore, the order of leaving grou