Lecture_Slides_Feb5_2025

Chirality center

An atom that is a source of chirality; usually a tetrahedral atom with four different substituents.

Enantiomers

Molecules that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other.

Racemic mixture

A 50/50 mixture of two enantiomers; has different physical properties than either pure enantiomer.

Optically active

A sample that rotates plane polarized light.

Diastereomers

Stereoisomers that are not enantiomers; have different physical properties.

Asymmetric center

Another term for chirality center, referring to a carbon atom bonded to four different groups.

Stereogenic center

Any atom in a molecule where the exchange of two substituents leads to a different stereoisomer.

Mirror plane of symmetry

A plane that divides a molecule into two mirror-image halves; if present, the molecule is achiral.

Enantiomeric resolution

The process of separating enantiomers from a racemic mixture.

CIP system

A method for describing the priority of substituents around a chiral center to determine R or S configuration.

E & Z notation

A system used to describe the stereochemistry of alkenes based on the priority of substituents.

Stability of alkenes

The degree of substitution in alkenes affects their stability; more substituted alkenes are generally more stable.