Q.The reaction of toluene with Cl2 in presence of Fe yields the major organic compound

A halogen substituent on a benzene ring simultaneously deactivates the ring (via strong inductive electron withdrawal, which operates at every ring position and slows electrophilic substitution overall relative to benzene) and directs incoming electrophiles to the ortho and para positions (via resonance donation of a lone pair, which stabilises the arenium-ion intermediate specifically for ortho/para attack but has no analogous stabilising resonance structure available for meta attack). These two effects are not contradictory: resonance controls where substitution occurs, induction controls how fast it occurs overall. A representative example is b …