Chapter 6: Stereochemistry Lecture Notes

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the fundamental concepts of stereochemistry from Chapter 6, including types of isomers, chirality rules, and notation for configuration and rotation.

Stereoisomers

Molecules with the same bonding and connectivity but different 3-D arrangements of atoms.

Enantiomers

Mirror images of molecules that are non-superimposable (chiral) and not identical.

Chiral carbon

A carbon atom that is surrounded by four different groups.

Relative configuration

Describing rotation as either (+) or (d) when it rotates light to the right and (-) or (l) when it rotates light to the left.

Chiral

A property of a molecule that lacks a plane of symmetry and will rotate plane-polarized light.

Optical rotation ($\alpha$)

The measurable rotation of plane-polarized light as it passes through a chiral substance.

Achiral

A property of a molecule that has a plane of symmetry and results in zero optical rotation.

Absolute configuration

The actual 3D molecular representation of an atom's arrangement, designated as (R) or (S).

$2^n$ rule

A rule where $n$ equals the number of chiral carbons, used to determine the maximum number of stereoisomers.

Diastereoisomers

Stereoisomers that are not mirror images of each other, typically occurring when more than one chiral carbon is present.

Meso compound

An achiral compound that contains chiral carbons but possesses a plane of symmetry, resulting in zero optical rotation.

Racemic mixture (racemate)

A 1:1 mixture of (R) and (S) enantiomers that produces a net optical rotation of zero.