What is meant by the term chiral?

Chirality is defined rather grandly as asymmetry such that an image and it's reflection are not superimposable. This means that if you reflect the object in a mirror it won't look exactly the same.

For example, a star is not chiral, because if you reflect it, you would be able to put the reflected image on top of the original. On the other hand, your hands are chiral - they are reflections of each other, but you can't put one on top of the other - think of it as trying to put a glove for your left hand on your right hand.

CM

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

Chlorine, 15 g, is contained in a vessel with a volume of 0.80 dm3 at 330 K. Calculate the pressure exerted when the chlorine is treated as a perfect (ideal) gas giving your answer in terms of kPa


How does the ionisation energy differ across period 2 from Li to Ne?


Explain why phenol is nitrated more readily than benzene.


Why does ice float on water? Use the structure of different states of matter to support your answer.