Log out Go to App
Go to App

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 5: Q55 E. (page 148)

On reaction with hydrogen gas by a platinum catalyst, ribose (Problem 5-54) is converted into ribitol. Is ribitol optically active or inactive? Explain.

Short Answer

Expert verified

A ribitol is an optically inactive compound.

Step by step solution

01

Optically active compounds

Optical active compounds are those which are capable of rotating plane-polarized light.Meso compounds are optically inactive compounds. For a compound to be optically active, it must have a chiral center.

02

Find out if ribitol is optically active or inactive

On catalytic hydrogenation (), ribose containing aldehyde converts into a hydroxyl group. When the plane of symmetry is drawn inside the molecule so that two halves of ribitol become mirror images of one another, this resulting compound is meso compound and, hence, optically inactive.

Conversion of Ribose to Ribitol

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Ribose, an essential part of ribonucleic acid (RNA), has the following structure:

(a) How many chirality centers does ribose have? Identify them.

(b) How many stereoisomers of ribose are there?

(c) Draw the structure of the enantiomer of ribose.

(d) Draw the structure of a diastereomer of ribose.

Which of the following objects are chiral?

(a) A basketball

(b) A fork

(c) A wine glass

(d) A golf club

(e) A spiral staircase

(f) A snowflake

(c)

Draw both cis- and trans-1,4-dimethylcyclohexane in their more stable chair conformations.

(a) How many stereoisomers are there of cis-1,4-dimethylcyclohexane, and how many of trans-1,4-dimethylcyclohexane?

(b) Are any of the structures chiral?

(c) What are the stereochemical relationships among the various stereoisomers of 1,4-dimethylcyclohexane?

Identify the indicated faces in the following molecules as Re or Si:

Question:Which of the following objects are chiral?

(a) Soda can

(b)Screwdriver

(c)Screw

(d)Shoe
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Chemistry Textbooks

Physical Chemistry

Read Explanation

Ionic and Molecular Compounds

Read Explanation

Chemistry Branches

Read Explanation

Kinetics

Read Explanation

Chemical Analysis

Read Explanation

Making Measurements

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free