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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

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Most popular questions from this chapter

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)

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

(e)

The reactions shown below are unlikely to occur as written. Tell what is wrong with each, and predict the actual product.

Which, if any, of the following structures represent meso compounds? (Blue = N, green = Cl.)

Question:Alanine, an amino acid found in proteins, is chiral. Draw the two enantiomers of alanine using the standard convention of solid, wedged, and dashed lines.
See all solutions

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