Optical Isomerism Flashcards
1
Q
What is optical isomerism?
A
Occurs when organic molecules have a chiral centre. They are isomers with non-superimposable images of each other
2
Q
What is an enantiomer?
A
What you call an isomer
3
Q
How many isomers are possible for each chiral centre?
A
2.
Total number of isomers = 2^ no. chiral centres
4
Q
What are the steps to drawing a 3D representation of an optical isomer?
A
- Identify chiral centre
- Draw an empty tetrahedral molecule with C at centre
- Position atoms
- Mirror your drawing
5
Q
What are the steps when drawing opitcal isomers with 2 chiral centres?
A
Mirror the entire thing (both centres)
Mirror top chiral centre only
Mirror bottom chiral centre only
