AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -This happens when a carbon atom has 4 different groups attached, this is called a chiral centre or asymmetric carbon. The two molecules are referred to as chiral or optically active. There are only ever two optical isomers formed for each chiral centre.

Detailed explanation-2: -Molecules or ions that exist as optical isomers are called chiral. Not all coordination compounds have optical isomers.

Detailed explanation-3: -It is widely known that to exhibit optical isomerism, the chemical compound must have a chiral carbon. However, there are a fair number of compounds that do not have chiral carbon yet exhibit optical activity. This is because these compounds are non-planar and give rise to non-superimposable mirror images.

Detailed explanation-4: -As stated, chiral molecules are optically active, which implies that when a beam of plane-polarized light passes through a chiral molecule, it interacts with the molecule in such a way that the angle of the plane of oscillation rotates.

Detailed explanation-5: -A chiral centre is a carbon atom that is bonded to four different molecules or atoms. Each chiral centre will result in two different optical isomers.