Acidity in alkenes is influenced by the electron-donating or electron-withdrawing effects of substituents attached to the double-bonded carbons.
- CH=CH (ethene) has no substituents, making it the most acidic because there are no electron-donating groups to stabilize the conjugate base.
- CH₃-C=CH (propene) has a methyl group attached to one of the carbons, which donates electron density and reduces acidity slightly compared to ethene.
- CH₃-C=C-CH₃ (butene) has two methyl groups, further donating electron density, which makes it the least acidic.
Thus, the order of acidity is CH=CH > CH₃-C=CH > CH₃-C=C-CH₃.