The number of geometrical isomers of butene are

To understand the geometrical isomers of butene, we need to explore its structure. Butene has four carbon atoms, and there are various structural forms that butene can take. These structural forms include linear or branched chains, with a double bond present between carbon atoms.

Geometric isomerism is a type of stereoisomerism. It occurs due to restricted rotation around the double bond, leading to different spatial arrangements of groups attached to the carbons forming the double bond. The geometric isomerism primarily occurs in alkenes like butene where the positions of substituents can vary.

Let's consider the different types of butene, focusing on the possibility of geometrical isomerism:

• 1-butene: This is a straight-chain isomer with the double bond starting at the first carbon. It doesn't show geometrical isomerism because the double bond is at the end of the chain, so there are no different spatial arrangements of groups possible.
• 2-butene: Here the double bond is between the second and third carbon. In this case, geometrical isomerism is possible because different groups (or atoms) attached to the carbon atoms can have different spatial arrangements. Specifically:
  • cis-2-butene: Both methyl groups (CH₃) are on the same side of the double bond.
  • trans-2-butene: The methyl groups are on opposite sides of the double bond.
• Isobutene (or 2-methylpropene): This is a branched isomer, and it does not have geometric isomers because the substituents around the double bond do not allow for different spatial configurations on either side of the double bond.

In conclusion, for butene, only 2-butene has geometrical isomers (cis and trans). Therefore, the number of geometric isomers is 2.