Optical Isomerism Flashcards
What kind of isomerism is optical isomerism?
Stereoisomerism
What is stereoisomerism?
Where molecules have the same structural formula but a different orientation in 3D space
What are chiral carbons?
Carbons with four different groups attached to them
What is another name for chiral carbons?
Asymmetric carbons
In what molecules does optical isomerism occur?
Molecules which have a chiral carbon with four different groups attached to it tetrahedrally.
What does asymmetric mean?
No plane of symmetry
What are enantiomers?
Non-superimposable mirror images of each other. Same molecular and geometric formula.
What kind of molecules can form enantiomers?
Ones with a chiral carbon
What is a chiral molecule?
A molecule that is asymmetric and exhibits optical isomerism
What do light beams consist of?
Waves of light that vibrate in all directions at right angles to the direction of travel
What do polaroid filters do?
They only allow light travelling in one plane to pass through by absorbing light in all other planes
What is an optically active substance?
One that can rotate the plane of polarised light
What does the prefix ‘L’ mean?
The enantiomer rotates the plane of light to the left
What does the prefix ‘D’ mean?
The enantiomer rotates the plane of light to the right
What is a racemic mixture?
An optically inactive mixture of equal amounts of enantiomers of the same concentration
