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Questions and Answers
What is the spatial arrangement difference between enantiomers?
Which type of isomers have the same molecular formula but different physical and/or chemical properties?
What makes a compound optically inactive?
What is a chiral center (asymmetric center) in a compound?
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What is the characteristic of compounds with no chiral atom?
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Study Notes
Isomers and Chirality
- Enantiomers are non-superimposable, mirror-image stereoisomers that differ in their spatial arrangement.
Stereoisomers
- Stereoisomers have the same molecular formula but differ in their three-dimensional structure, resulting in different physical and/or chemical properties.
Optically Inactive Compounds
- A compound is optically inactive if it does not rotate plane-polarized light.
Chiral Centers (Asymmetric Centers)
- A chiral center (asymmetric center) in a compound is an atom, usually a carbon, that has four different substituents attached, making it asymmetric and capable of existing in two non-superimposable, mirror-image forms.
Achiral Compounds
- Compounds with no chiral atoms are achiral, meaning they have a symmetric molecular structure and do not exist as enantiomers.
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Description
Test your understanding of the stereochemistry of alkanes in pharmaceutical organic chemistry with this quiz. Explore chain (skeletal) isomers and their molecular formulas.
