CHEM2311 Lecture 10 Review: Chirality and Acid/Base Reactions

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to chirality and acid/base reactions from the CHEM2311 lecture notes.

Isomers

Compounds that have the same molecular formula but different arrangements of atoms.

Constitutional isomers (Structural isomers)

Isomers that have the same molecular formula but different connectivity of atoms (i.e., different bonding sequences).

Conformational isomers (Conformers)

Isomers that can be interconverted by rotation about single bonds, typically without breaking bonds.

Stereoisomers

Isomers that have the same molecular formula and the same connectivity of atoms, but differ in the spatial arrangement of their atoms.

Stereocenter

A carbon atom bonded to four different substituents.

Maximum number of stereoisomers

For a compound with n stereocenters, the maximum possible number of stereoisomers is 2^n.

Enantiomer

Stereoisomers that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other and have all stereocenters inverted.

Diastereomer

Stereoisomers that are not mirror images of each other. They differ at some, but not all, stereocenters.

Meso compound

A compound with multiple stereocenters that has an internal plane of symmetry, making it achiral despite having stereocenters.

Cis/Trans isomers

Stereoisomers that differ in the arrangement of substituents around a double bond or ring structure, specifically referring to substituents on the same (cis) or opposite (trans) sides.

E/Z isomerism

A system for describing the stereochemistry of alkenes based on the priority of substituents: (E) for opposite sides (trans) and (Z) for same sides (cis) of higher priority groups across the double bond.

Bronsted Acid

A substance that donates a proton (H^+).

Bronsted Base

A substance that accepts a proton (H^+).

Conjugate Acid

The species formed when a Bronsted base accepts a proton.

Conjugate Base

The species formed when a Bronsted acid donates a proton.

Dynamic equilibrium

A state in a reversible chemical reaction where the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are equal, resulting in no net change in reactant and product concentrations.

Elementary step

A single step in a chemical reaction mechanism involving the breaking and forming of bonds, exactly as written in the stoichiometric equation for that step.

Equilibrium constant (Keq)

A numeric value that expresses the ratio of concentrations of products to reactants at equilibrium, indicating the extent to which a reaction proceeds.

Acidity constant (Ka)

A value that measures the strength of an acid in solution (Ka = \frac{[H3O^+][A^-]}{[HA]}); a larger K_a indicates a stronger acid.

pKa

The negative logarithm of the acidity constant ($$pKa = -log(