In a particular chlorination reaction, a single hydrogen atom of 2,2-dimethylbutane, C6H14, is replaced by one chlorine atom - VCE - SSCE Chemistry - Question 12 - 2009 - Paper 1

In 2,2-dimethylbutane, each of the two methyl groups (–CH3) contributes three hydrogen atoms, while the two CH2 groups contribute another two hydrogen atoms. Thus, the total number of hydrogen atoms that can be substituted is five.

Chlorination occurs at the hydrogen atoms. The two types of substitution can occur at:

1. One of the five equivalent hydrogens from the methyl groups.
2. One from the central CH, which can be substituted, resulting in different products.

By replacing any hydrogen with chlorine, distinct compounds formed are:

1. When substituting a methyl hydrogen, two identical products are formed due to symmetry.
2. When substituting a central hydrogen, it results in a different compound. Thus, the total count of distinct products is 4.

Given the possible substitutions and resulting unique compounds, the number of different compounds that could be formed in this reaction is:

C. 4.