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  4. In nitrobenzene, the X attacks on comparatively electron rich meta-position resulting in Y substitution. Here, X and Y refer to

Q. In nitrobenzene, the attacks on comparatively electron rich meta-position resulting in substitution. Here, and refer to

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Solution:

Nitro group reduces the electron density in the benzene ring due to its strong -effect. Nitrobenzene is a resonance hybrid of the following structures:
image
In this case, the overall electron density on benzene ring decreases making further substitution difficult, therefore these groups are also called 'deactivating groups'.
The electron density on - and -position is comparatively less than that at meta-position.
Hence, the electrophile attacks on comparatively electron rich meta-position resulting in meta-substitution.