Question

The resonance energy of benzene is :
A.) $36kJ$
B.) $85.8kJ$
C.) $152kJ$
D.) $64kJ$

Answer 1

The resonance energy benzene can be defined as the energy difference between the resonance hybrid of benzene and its most stable resonating structure. Benzene has resonance energy of $152kJ$.

Complete step by step answer:
Benzene is an important organic chemical compound with the chemical formula ${C_6}{H_6}$. By resonance we mean the measure of the extra stability of the resonance hybrid. Resonance is the way of describing the bonding in particular molecules or ions by merging many contributing structures. These structures are called resonance structures. These resonance structures are the sets of Lewis structures that describe the delocalization of electrons in a molecule. We represent a molecule by a set of Lewis structures because sometimes due to presence of partial charges or fractional bonds in a molecule, a single Lewis structure fails to explain the bonding in that molecule so we use resonance structures to represent or describe the bonding in a molecule.
In this question, the resonance energy of a compound is the energy difference between the resonance hybrid of a molecule and its most stable resonating energy structure. Here, resonance hybrid is a structure which describes the bonding of a molecule by the merging of several contributing structures.
The resonance energy of the benzene is $36kcal$ or in joules it is $152kJ$.

So, the correct answer is Option C .

Note:
Remember that resonance energy is directly proportional to the stability of a compound. When resonance energy is more then the stability of compound will be more and when resonance energy is less then the stability of compound is less.