Let's see what makes a molecule chiral and how to find all of the chiral
centers. Hello everyone, I'm Melissa Maribel your personal tutor and let's start with
understanding what a chiral molecule is. If a molecule is chiral it means there
is no line of symmetry the left side is not the same as the right and the
molecules mirror image is different and nonsuperimposable meaning we cannot
perfectly align the molecules on top of each other. A molecule is achiral if
there is a line of symmetry within the molecule, the left side is the same as
the right side which is why it's achiral.
Let's do another example and see what molecules are chiral or achiral if we
were to cut the middle of each molecule we would see that the top and bottom
parts of this first molecule are not the same so there is no line of symmetry
making it a chiral molecule. However, the second molecule does have a line of
symmetry since the top and bottom parts of the molecule are the same making this
an achiral molecule moving on to chiral centers a chiral center is an
atom that is attached to four different groups, we represent a chiral center with
an asterisk. When an atom has a double or triple bond it cannot be a chiral center
since there are not enough groups. For example, this carbon is not a chiral
center because there are only three different groups and we need four
different groups for this to be a chiral center. Let's identify the chiral centers
in these two examples looking at this carbon we will see if there are four
different groups surrounding the central carbon we have OH this carbon chain, a
totally different carbon chain with an OH group and a hydrogen so both of these
carbons are our chiral centers note an achiral molecule can still have chiral
centers as shown here. This entire molecule does have a line of symmetry
and both parts are the same making it achiral.
In this example there are actually no chiral centers because there are two
methyl groups and remember all of the groups have to be different. Note: a
chiral molecule does not have to have a chiral center there is no line of
symmetry within this molecule making it chiral.
Okay to make sure you fully understand everything we just covered try these two
questions and we'll go over the answers in just a little bit. For question one
identify the chiral centers. To find the answer to question one let's check each
carbon and see if there are four different groups. Hmm nope not enough
groups not enough groups for the next carbon this carbon has one two three
four different groups so yes this is a chiral center. Next remember double or
triple bond will never be a chiral center so this one is not a chiral
center. This next carbon doesn't have enough groups the next carbon has one
two three and four different groups so yes this is another chiral center and
this end carbon is a common mistake it has enough groups but there are two of the
same groups our methyl groups but we need all four groups to be different so
this is not a chiral center. There are only two chiral centers in this molecule.
For question two label each molecule as chiral or achiral
To find the answer to question two remember we are looking for lines of
symmetry, if there is a line of symmetry within the molecule then it's achiral
like this first one is. Here is another hidden line of symmetry we can count the
number of carbons on either side and see that we can cut this molecule in half
and it would be the same since there are 1, 2, 3 carbons on the left and 1, 2, 3
carbons on the right making this molecule achiral. Now for the remaining
molecules there is no line of symmetry no matter how we try to cut them down
the middle they are never the same so these both are chiral.You can find other
helpful videos right here and if you would like additional homework help
tutoring or other resources you can find that all in the description box and
remember stay determined you can do this
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét