SN2 reaction
Solvent. The solvent affects the rate of reaction because solvents may or may not surround a nucleophile, thus hindering or not hindering its approach to the carbon atom. Polar aprotic solvents, like tetrahydrofuran, are better solvents for this reaction than polar protic solvents because polar protic solvents will be solvated by the solvent hydrogen bonding to the nucleophile. This hinders it from attacking the carbon with the leaving group.