Question

How many benzenoid isomers are possible for cresol?

Answer 1

Hint: Cresols are organic compounds which are hydroxy toluene or methylphenol. The chemical structure of cresol is methyl group substituted onto the ring of phenol. Its chemical formula is \[{{C}_{7}}{{H}_{8}}O\].

Complete step by step solution:
Let’s know what a benzenoid is, it is a class of chemical compounds with at least one benzene ring. The resonance bonds in benzene rings leads to increased stability. Most of the aromatic hydrocarbon is benzenoid.
Isomers are the molecules which have the same molecular formula, but have a different arrangement of the atoms. They have the same empirical formula but they do not necessarily share similar properties
The number of benzenoid isomers possible for cresol are 5.
1. 2-methylphenol or o-cresol
2. 3-methylphenol or m-cresol
3. 4-methylphenol or p-cresol
4. Methoxybenzene or methylphenylether
5. Phenyl methanol or benzyl alcohol
The terms ortho, meta and para are prefixes used in organic chemistry to indicate the position substituents on a hydrocarbon ring.
Ortho, para and meta cresol are the derivatives of phenol while methoxybenzene is of ether and phenyl methanol is of alcohol.

Therefore, from the above statements we can conclude that benzenoid isomers of cresol are 5 in number.

Note: Alcohols containing two or more carbon atoms can exhibit functional isomerism with ethers. Thus, ethers and alcohols can have the same molecular formula but have different functional groups, hence they are called functional isomers.