What is inductive effect

The most basic way to explain it is that the inductive effect is used to explain how certain groups can "Push" and "Pull" charge that is next to them, the most common example is the Methyl (or similar alkyl group) that will "Push" negative charge from itself and toward whatever it is attatched to, this is called a "+I" group because of this effect. The pushing of negative charge towards something that is positive will help make that species a little less positive then if it was all alone and therefore less unstable.

This also applied to elminination and addition reactions, In early chemistry you may have done the addition of to an alkene such as Propene, although at higher levels this is described more eliquently with anti additions and such if you use the mechanism that a Br "Adds" to one of the carbons on either side of the double bond, and leaves a positive charge on the other carbon then the inductive effect plays a role in determining the most preferred place for that first Br atom to add (The least substituted place, so the inductive effect pushes charge onto the cation)

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regards

Ramesh