AICE Chemistry Practice Exam 2025 - Free Chemistry Practice Questions and Study Guide

The nucleophile's ability to substitute an atom in a halogenoalkane is primarily driven by the polarity of the carbon-halogen bond. In a halogenoalkane, the carbon atom is attached to a halogen atom, and the halogen is generally more electronegative than carbon. This difference in electronegativity results in a polar bond, where the carbon atom carries a partial positive charge, and the halogen carries a partial negative charge.

Because of this polarization, the carbon atom becomes susceptible to attack by nucleophiles, which are species that possess a lone pair of electrons and can donate them to form a bond with the electron-deficient carbon. The nucleophile is thus able to approach the carbon more readily, leading to a substitution reaction where the halogen is replaced by the nucleophile.

While other factors such as temperature and pressure can influence the rate of a reaction or the equilibrium position, the intrinsic property that enables the nucleophile to effectively attack the halogenoalkane is the resulting polarity of the carbon-halogen bond, as it creates a favorable condition for nucleophilic substitution to occur. Additionally, the strength of carbon-hydrogen bonds is not pertinent to the substitution process in this context,