Which of the following conformations of isobutyl chloride

Solution 57P

Step 1 of 2:

Here, we are asked which among the given conformations of isobutyl chloride is the most stable.

A conformation is nothing but the structural arrangement of a chemical compound.

Given projection:

The above projections are Newman projections. A Newman projection is a way to look at the conformation of a noncyclical molecule. It visualizes chemical conformations of a carbon-carbon chemical bond from front to back of the compound. The front carbon atom is represented by a dot and the carbon atom at the back is represented as a circle. The front carbon atom is called as proximal and the back carbon atom is called distal.

Sometimes there can be various newman projections for a molecule or compound as  carbon atoms in the compound are linked by single bonds and the bonds are able to freely rotate, allowing for various conformations.