OCR A Level Chemistry

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6.5.1 Optical Isomers

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Optical Isomers & Chirality

Optical isomerism

  • Stereoisomers are molecules that have the same structural formula but have the atoms arranged differently in space
  • There are two types of stereoisomerism
    • Geometrical (E / Z)
    • Optical

  • A carbon atom that has four different atoms or groups of atoms attached to it is called a chiral carbon or chiral centre
    • Chira comes from a Greek word meaning hand, so we talk about these molecules having a handedness

  • Compounds with a chiral centre (chiral molecules) exist as two optical isomers which are also known as enantiomers
  • The enantiomers are non-superimposable mirror images of each other just like your left and right hand

An Introduction to AS Level Organic Chemistry Enantiomers and Chiral Centre, downloadable AS & A Level Chemistry revision notes

A molecule has a chiral centre when the carbon atom is bonded to four different atoms or group of atoms; this gives rises to enantiomers

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