What is chirality?
Sometimes two molecules can exist as non-superimposable mirror-images. That is to say, the mirror image of a molecule cannot be exactly placed on top of the original molecule.
A good example of this is your hands: they are mirror images of one another, but cannot be exactly placed on top of each other.
Pairs of molecules that exhibit this property are known as enantiomers. When a carbon atom is bonded to four distinct groups, this is known as a chiral centre, and two enantiomers of this arrangement are seen.
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Related Chemistry A Level answers
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