Maharashtra BoardEnglish MediumSTD 12 ScienceChemistryHalogen Derivatives2 Marks
Question
Define optical activity. How many optical isomers are possible for glucose?
✓
Answer
Optical activity: Optical activity is the property of certain organic substances to rotate the plane of plane polarised light towards the right (clockwise) or towards the left (anticlockwise). The structure of glucose is We see that carbon atoms 2, 3, 4, and 5 are chiral centres. The maximum number of optical isomers is $2^n$, where $n$ is the number of chiral centres centres In glucose , $n=4$, so $2^4=16$ possible isomers.
Need a full question paper?
Generate a complete, print-ready paper with questions like this in minutes — across 16+ boards, with answer keys.