Stereochemistry and Optical Activity

Which of the following properties do enantiomers typically share?

• Smell and taste

• Melting and boiling points

• Interaction in chiral environments

• Rotation of plane-polarized light

How can two enantiomers, like (R)-carvone and (S)-carvone, be distinguished from each other?

• By their melting points

• By their boiling points

• By their smells and tastes

• By their chemical formulas

What is plane-polarized light?

• Light that vibrates in all directions.

• Light that has been filtered to vibrate in only one direction.

• Light that is reflected off horizontal surfaces.

• Light that is blocked by non-polarized lenses.

What term describes a molecule that rotates plane-polarized light to the right?

• Levorotatory

• Chiral

• Dextrorotatory

• Optically pure

What did Louis Pasteur observe when he separated two different types of tartaric acid crystals and tested them with plane-polarized light?

• Both types rotated light in the same direction.

• One type rotated light, and the other did not.

• Both types rotated light in equal but opposite directions.

• Neither type rotated light.

What is the main characteristic of isomers?

• They have different molecular formulas but the same structure.

• They have the same molecular formula but different arrangements of atoms.

• They have the same molecular formula and the same structure.

• They have different molecular formulas and different arrangements of atoms.

Which type of isomer has atoms connected in the same order but with different spatial arrangements?

• Constitutional isomers

• Stereoisomers

• Geometric isomers

• Enantiomers

How many actual stereoisomers does tartaric acid have?

• Two

• Three

• Four

• Five