Why is benzene more stable than expected?
All the carbons in benzene are sp2 hybridised. The carbons are each bonded to one hydrogen and all bonds to other carbon atoms in the ring are the same length. This bond is in between the bond length of a C=C and C-C bond. This is because there is a system of p orbitals that can overlap to form a delocalised system of electrons above and below the plane of carbon atoms. This system leads to the benzene ring being more stable than expected.
Related Chemistry A Level answers
All answers ▸What are the three pieces of evidence that disprove the Kekulé model of Benzene?
An acid can be either strong or weak, explain the difference between strong and weak acids.
Explain how the electron pair repulsion theory can be used to deduce the shape of, and the bond angle in, PF3
Why is CO2 a linear molecule whereas H2O has a v-shaped geometry?