Def:
Optical isomers differ by their 3-dimensional arrangement around a tetrahedral carbon.
Def:
A chiral molecule is one which is not superimposable on its mirror image.
Fact #1: Molecules with at least one carbon with four different substituents will be chiral.
Fact #2: Therefore, molecules with at least one carbon with four different substituents will have optical isomers.
Fact #3: Chiral compounds rotate polarized light.
Fact #4: This is a really big deal in biochemistry!!
Def: Two molecules which are non-superimposable mirror images of one another are enantiomers.
Def: Optical isomers which are not mirror images (enanatiomers) are diastereomers.
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