Enantiomers:

Note: to see and manipulate the 3-dimensional images in this tutorial you must have jmol installed.

Enantiomers are molecules which are non-superimposable mirror images of each other. A pair of enantiomers share identical physical and chemical properties with two exceptions
  1. They rotate plane polarized light in equal and opposite directions.
  2. They interact differently with other chiral molecules.



The molecules below are identical.
Rotate them to demonsatrate that they are also mirror images of each other.
Ask yourself:
1. How many different atoms or grops are attached to the carbon?
2. Does this molecule have a plane of symmetry?
CH4
CH4

The molecules below appear to be identical, are they?
If they are, try to rotate them to that they are also mirror images of each other.
Ask yourself:
1. How many different atoms or groups are attached to the carbon?
2. Does this molecule have a plane of symmetry?
CH3Cl
CH3Cl
The molecules below appear to be identical, are they?
If they are, try to rotate them to that they are also mirror images of each other.
Ask yourself:
1. How many different atoms or groups are attached to the carbon?
2. Does this molecule have a plane of symmetry?
CH2ClBr
CH2ClBr
We will examing these molecules from the opposide point of view.
The molecules below look like mirror images of each other, but are they identical or not?
Rotate the molecules to see if they are the same.
Ask yourself:
1. How many different atoms or groups are attached to the carbon with the OH group?
2. Does this molecule have a plane of symmetry?
2-butanol
2-butanol

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Created October 2, 2002. updated October 4, 2013. KC Russell, Northern Kentucky University
© 2002 KC Russell