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MCAT Organic Chemistry – Molecules
- by
- Feb 02, 2015
- MCAT Blog, MCAT Organic, MCAT Question of the Day
The two molecules above can best be described as:
A) Structural isomers
B) Diastereomers
C) Enantiomers
D) Conformational isomers
Explanation
A) Structural isomers
B) Diastereomers
C) Enantiomers
D) Conformational isomers
The molecule on the left is trans 1, 2-diiodocyclohexane. The molecule on the right is cis 1, 2-diiodocyclohexane. Cis and trans molecules are a type of diastereomer called geometric isomers.
A: Structural isomers have fundamentally different connectivity between the atoms. So for example if the iodine were on carbons 1 and 3 and then in the other molecule on carbons 1 and 4, that would be structural isomers.
C: Enantiomers are mirror image reflections of each other, which these molecules are not.
D: Conformations isomers allow you to freely interconvert between the molecules without breaking any bonds. The classic example is chair and boat cyclohexane. Here, to flip the one iodine from R to S configuration would require breaking a bond in the ring, rotating, and then re-attaching. That requirement for bond-breaking means these are not conformers.
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