All books

Professional

Apps About Coach Log in Start reading

Chemistry · Glossary

What is Conformation?

Definition 39.12 School Chemistry — Grades 1 to 12 · Chapter 39 — Stereochemistry: Chirality and Isomers

The atoms of a molecule can rotate about a single bond. Each arrangement reached by such rotations is a conformation of the molecule. Conformations of one molecule are not isomers: they turn into one another all the time at room temperature.

Two conformations of ethane, CH3-CH3, seen along the C-C bond: the front carbon is the centre, the back carbon the circle. The staggered conformation, where the atoms are farthest apart, is the most stable.
Two conformations of ethane, CHX3−CHX3\ce{CH3-CH3}, seen along the C−C\ce{C-C} bond: the front carbon is the centre, the back carbon the circle. The staggered conformation, where the atoms are farthest apart, is the most stable.
Read in context →

Related terms