What is stereochemistry?
Q: What is stereochemistry?
A: Stereochemistry is the study of how molecules are affected by the way their atoms are arranged in space. It is also known as 3D chemistry as the word stereo means three dimensional.
Q: How can chemists use stereochemistry?
A: Using stereochemistry, chemists can work out the relationships between different molecules that are made up from the same atoms. They can also study the effect on the physical or biological properties these relationships give molecules. When these relationships influence the reactivity of the molecules it is called dynamic stereochemistry.
Q: What are isomers?
A: In chemistry, some molecules have more than one isomer. This means that molecules can have different forms, even though all the forms made up of the same atoms. There are two kinds of isonomers; constitutional isomers which have the same atoms but they are joined differently and stereoisomers which have the same atoms, they are joined in a similar way but with different arrangements in space.
Q: What does chiral mean?
A: Chiral refers to when a molecule has two mirror images which look almost identical except for one being a reflection of another molecule.
Q: How do double bonds and ring structures affect molecules?
A: When a molecule has a double bond or a ring structure, it can be sorted into different types of isomers - those with chemical structures but different forms due to differences in arrangement in space.
Q: What range does stereochemical problems cover?
A: The study of stereochemical problems covers all aspects of organic, inorganic, biological, physical and supramolecular chemistries
