Optical Activity (7 min)

This tutorial explains the concept of optical activity, a special property of chiral compounds. (Runtime = 6:50)

Student Learning Outcomes
After viewing this tutorial and practicing problems from this website and your textbook, you should be able to:
• Determine when a molecule will be optically active.
• Determine whether a particular sample (e.g., a mixture of compounds) will be optically active.
• Understand how stereochemistry relates to the physical and chemical properties of a compound.


Practice Problems
Here are some problems to get you started. You should first try each on a piece of paper. Then, place your cursor over the graphic and click on right arrow that appears to see the answer. The right and left arrows allow you to move back and forth between problems. Please note that these are not the only types of problems/questions that exist on this topic. Refer to your textbook and any problems your instructor provides you for more practice with this subject.

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© Thomas Poon 1999