My one-sentence advice to those about to write an exam: Number your carbons. Now go write your exam. If you need reasons, here they are. There's two. First reason: if you number all the carbons in your starting compound(s), it helps you double check that you didn't miss any in your … [Read more...]
The Meso Trap
Question: Are these molecules enantiomers, diastereomers, or the same? If you immediately recognized this as a molecule with an internal plane of symmetry (and thus an achiral molecule, incapable of having an enantiomer), congratulations. If not, you just fell into The Meso Trap. The Meso … [Read more...]