Give plausible explanation for each of the following:
(i) Why are amines less acidic than alcohols of comparable molecular masses?
(ii) Why do primary amines have higher boiling point than tertiary amines?
(iii) Why are aliphatic amines stronger bases than aromatic amines?
(i) Amines undergo deprotonation to form amide ions, while alcohols undergo deprotonation to form alkoxide ions. Because oxygen (O) is more electronegative than nitrogen (N), the negative charge is more readily accommodated in alkoxide ions (RO−) than in amide ions (R−NH−). Consequently, amines exhibit lower acidity compared to alcohols of similar molecular weights.
(ii) In primary amines, nitrogen atoms possess two hydrogen atoms, facilitating extensive intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Conversely, tertiary amines lack hydrogen atoms on nitrogen, rendering hydrogen bonding impossible. As a result, primary amines exhibit higher boiling points than tertiary amines.
(iii) Aliphatic amines display greater basicity than aromatic amines for several reasons: (a) Aromatic amines exhibit resonance, causing the lone pair of electrons on the nitrogen atom to be delocalized over the benzene ring, making it less available for protonation. (b) Aryl amine ions are less stable than alkyl amine ions, making protonation of aromatic amines less favorable.
Write IUPAC names of the following compounds and classify them into primary, secondary and tertiary amines.
(i) (CH3 )2CHNH2 (ii) CH3 (CH2 )2NH2 (iii) CH3NHCH(CH3 )2
(iv) (CH3 )3CNH2 (v) C6H5NHCH3 (vi) (CH3CH2 )2NCH3 (vii) m–BrC6H4NH2
Give one chemical test to distinguish between the following pairs of compounds.
(i) Methylamine and dimethylamine
(ii) Secondary and tertiary amines
(iii) Ethylamine and aniline
(iv) Aniline and benzylamine
(v) Aniline and N-methylaniline
Account for the following:
(i) pKb of aniline is more than that of methylamine.
(ii) Ethylamine is soluble in water whereas aniline is not.
(iii) Methylamine in water reacts with ferric chloride to precipitate hydrated ferric oxide.
(iv) Although amino group is o– and p– directing in aromatic electrophilic substitution reactions, aniline on nitration gives a substantial amount of m-nitroaniline.
(v) Aniline does not undergo Friedel-Crafts reaction.
(vi) Diazonium salts of aromatic amines are more stable than those of aliphatic amines. (vii) Gabriel phthalimide synthesis is preferred for synthesising primary amines.
Write IUPAC names of the following compounds and classify them into primary, secondary and tertiary amines.
(i) (CH3 )2CHNH2 (ii) CH3 (CH2 )2NH2 (iii) CH3NHCH(CH3 )2
(iv) (CH3 )3CNH2 (v) C6H5NHCH3 (vi) (CH3CH2 )2NCH3 (vii) m–BrC6H4NH2
Give one chemical test to distinguish between the following pairs of compounds.
(i) Methylamine and dimethylamine
(ii) Secondary and tertiary amines
(iii) Ethylamine and aniline
(iv) Aniline and benzylamine
(v) Aniline and N-methylaniline
Account for the following:
(i) pKb of aniline is more than that of methylamine.
(ii) Ethylamine is soluble in water whereas aniline is not.
(iii) Methylamine in water reacts with ferric chloride to precipitate hydrated ferric oxide.
(iv) Although amino group is o– and p– directing in aromatic electrophilic substitution reactions, aniline on nitration gives a substantial amount of m-nitroaniline.
(v) Aniline does not undergo Friedel-Crafts reaction.
(vi) Diazonium salts of aromatic amines are more stable than those of aliphatic amines. (vii) Gabriel phthalimide synthesis is preferred for synthesising primary amines.
Arrange the following:
(i) In decreasing order of the pKb values: C2H5NH2 , C6H5NHCH3 , (C2H5 )2NH and C6H5NH2
(ii) In increasing order of basic strength: C6H5NH2 , C6H5N(CH3 )2 , (C2H5 )2NH and CH3NH2
(iii) In increasing order of basic strength: (a) Aniline, p-nitroaniline and p-toluidine Exercises Rationalised 2023-24 279 Amines (b) C6H5NH2 , C6H5NHCH3 , C6H5CH2NH2 .
(iv) In decreasing order of basic strength in gas phase: C2H5NH2 , (C2H5 )2NH, (C2H5 )3N and NH3
(v) In increasing order of boiling point: C2H5OH, (CH3 )2NH, C2H5NH2
(vi) In increasing order of solubility in water: C6H5NH2 , (C2H5 )2NH, C2H5NH2 .
How will you convert:
(i) Ethanoic acid into methanamine
(ii) Hexanenitrile into 1-aminopentane
(iii) Methanol to ethanoic acid
(iv) Ethanamine into methanamine
(v) Ethanoic acid into propanoic acid
(vi) Methanamine into ethanamine
(vii) Nitromethane into dimethylamine
(viii) Propanoic acid into ethanoic acid?
The structure of Amines is shown below:

Alkylamines consist of tetrahedral nitrogen centers where the C-N-H and C-N-C bond angle is 109°. The distance between C-N bonds is smaller in comparison to the C-C range. The amines can also display a chiral property wherein the center of the nitrogen atom holds for replacements which creates solo pairs.
The bond angle in the case of trimethylamine is 108° which results in the Pyramidal structure of trimethylamine-

Due to the mixture of the solo pair with the aryl substituent, nitrogen nearly has a planar structure in aromatic amines. The C-N range is very short. In aniline, the distance between C-N bonds is similar to the distance between C-C bonds.
Read More: Structure of Amines