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Chapter 15: Q15.15P (page 683)

Which features of the retinal make it so valuable as a photon absorber in the visual systems of organisms?

Short Answer

Expert verified

Retinal is used as a photo absorber due to its conjugation system and the C11-C12 cis bond as shown:

Step by step solution

01

Retinal

Retinal contains the aldehyde bond at the side-chain terminal, which is also called retinal aldehyde. It is bounded to a protein named opsin, which helps in the photon absorption, and it is a derivative of vitamin A, also named vitamin A aldehyde.

02

Retinal as photon absorber

Retinal is used as a photon absorber and absorbs the peak of 500nm, which is almost equal to sun energy produced by sin; hence when sunlight falls on the eye retina absorbs it, and its cis unsaturated bond between C11 and C12 is d get reduced to a single bond shows the retina absorb light due to cis bond.

Retinal and red bond showing C11-C12 bond

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Some of the most useful compounds for organic synthesis are Grignard reagents (general formula , where X is a halogen), which are made by combining an alkyl halide, , with. They are used to change the carbon skeleton of a starting carbonyl compound in a reaction similar to that with :

(a) What is the product, after a final step with water, of the reaction between ethanal and the Grignard reagent of bromobenzene?

(b) What is the product, after a final step with water, of the reaction between 2-butanone and the Grignard reagent of 2-bromopropane?

(c) There are often two (or more) combinations of Grignard reagent and carbonyl compound that will give the same product. Choose another pair of reactants to give the product in (a).

(d) What ±OH group at the end of the carbon chain?

(e) What Grignard carbonyl compound must react with a Grignard reagent to yield a product with the reagent and carbonyl compound would you use to prepare 2-methyl-2-butanol?

(a) What structural feature is associated with each type of hydrocarbon; an alkane; a cycloalkane; an alkene; an alkyne? (b) Give the general formula for each type.(c) Which hydrocarbons are considered saturated?

Which of these bonds to carbon would you expect to be relatively reactive: C-H,C-C,C-I,C=O,C-Li? Explain.

Question: Which features of the retinal make it so valuable as a photon absorber in the visual systems of organisms?

Is the organic reactant oxidized, reduced, or neither in each of the following reactions?
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