What is a chiral carbon and optical isomerism?

A chiral carbon is a carbon with four distinct molecular groups bonded to it. The main consequence of this is imposing optical isomerism to the compound. Optical isomers can be thought of as a non-superimposable mirror images of its self, much like your hands. Understanding and respecting chirality is critical in drug design and development.

MK

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

I do not understand Le Chatelier's Principle - please help!


Why do ionic compounds like NaCl conduct electricity when dissolved but not when they’re solid, whereas metals conduct electricity when they’re solid?


3.786g of hydrated zinc sulphate, ZnSO4•xH2O, is heated to remove all water of crystallisation. The mass of anhydrous ZnSO4 formed is 2.122g. What is the formula of the hydrated zinc sulphate?


For the following reaction, you obtained 7.2 g of sodium sulfate, starting from 10 g of sulfuric acid. Sodium hydroxide is in excess. What is the % yield? H2SO4 + 2NaOH → Na2SO4 + 2H2O