Answer to Question #220532 in Organic Chemistry for Nisu

Question

How would you predict that nitro group in nitrobenzene is an electron withdrawing group?

Answer 1

In nitrobenzene, nitro group(-NO2) is attached to the benzene ring. -NO2 group is an electron withdrawing group.Resonating structure of nitrobenzene shows +ve charge develops in ortho and para positions. As a result, the electron density at meta position is relatively higher than at the ortho and para position.