Topic 18: Stereochemistry - Optical Activity

18.1What is plane-polarized light? How is it related to circularly polarized light?
 
18.2How is plane-polarized light produced?
 
18.3What is optical activity?
 
18.4Does light travel slower or faster through a liquid than through a vacuum? Why?
 
18.5What does optical activity have to do with the speed of light and circular polarization? [Think about what might happen if a mixture of clockwise- and counter-clockwise- light is introduced to a solution that contains only one of two related enantiomers.]
 
18.6Why does a chiral compound rotate plane-polarized light? [Hint: This question requires thinking about the relationship between circularly polarized light, the speed of light NOT in a vacuum, and the relationship between plane- and circularly-polarized light.]
 
18.7What is a racemic mixture?
 
18.8How is optical rotation (“observed rotation” ?) measured?
 
18.9How is observed rotation related to specific rotation ? How is this use of the word specific here similar to its use in specific heat or specific gravity?
 
18.10Why is specific rotation more useful that observed rotation?
 

Topic 19: Stereochemistry - Mixtures of Enantiomers and Enantiomeric Excess

19.1What is enantiomeric excess (ee)? Why use the word excess here?
 
19.2What does an enantiomeric excess of 100% mean?
 
19.3What does an enantiomeric excess of 0% mean?
 
19.4How is enantiomeric excess related to specific rotation?
 
19.5How is enantiomeric excess related to the ratio of enantiomers? (For example, if the enantiomeric excess is 40%, favoring the (+) enantiomer, what is the ratio of (+) to (-) enantiomers in the mixture?)
 
15 questions
364 questions for Organic I

364 Questions for Organic I

Dearest Student. This web page is a set of questions I call Detailed Intended Learning Outcomes For Organic Chemistry (Part I). Some time ago I asked myself, "Bob, what do you think are the key questions that you hope students will be able to answer after taking Chemistry 247 at St. Olaf College?" So here you have them. Some are very simple; some require more thought. All are good questions to be thinking about as you read, discuss, and master the practical aspects of organic chemistry. They are discussion starters and review tips. There are no answers here (though there are some clues). The questions are here to help you focus on what's important (to me, at least!) and organize your learning process. The questions are grouped into topics. Bite-size chunks. Take them a few at a time. Don't feast on them all at one sitting!

(preliminary version 2021.01.15 feeback: Bob Hanson)