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Chemistry · Glossary

What is Enantiomers, diastereomers, meso compound, racemic mixture?

Also known as: enantiomers · diastereomers · meso compound · racemic mixture

Definition 16.7 University Chemistry — Year 1 · Chapter 16 — Stereochemistry in Depth

Two stereoisomers that are mirror images of each other are enantiomers; stereoisomers that are not are diastereomers. A meso compound has stereogenic centres but is achiral. An equimolar mixture of two enantiomers is a racemic mixture.

The two carvones, drawn on the same skeleton: the isopropenyl group on C5 points towards the reader (solid wedge) in one and away from the reader (hashed wedge) in the other, the hydrogen of C5 (not drawn) on the opposite side. They are mirror images of each other: enantiomers ().
The two carvones, drawn on the same skeleton: the isopropenyl group on C5 points towards the reader (solid wedge) in one and away from the reader (hashed wedge) in the other, the hydrogen of C5 (not drawn) on the opposite side. They are mirror images of each other: enantiomers (Exercise 16.4).
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