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The next time you have the opportunity to view a collection of seashells that have a
Chapter 3, Problem 3.12(choose chapter or problem)
The next time you have the opportunity to view a collection of seashells that have a heli-cal twist, study the chirality of their twists. Do you find an equal number of left-handedand right-handed spiral shells or mostly all of the same chirality? What about the hand-edness of different species of spiral shells?
Questions & Answers
QUESTION:
The next time you have the opportunity to view a collection of seashells that have a heli-cal twist, study the chirality of their twists. Do you find an equal number of left-handedand right-handed spiral shells or mostly all of the same chirality? What about the hand-edness of different species of spiral shells?
ANSWER:Chirality
Chirality is a property of a molecule or ion that is non-superimposable on its mirror image. In other words, it is a molecule or ion that cannot be superimposed on its own mirror image.
Chirality is a result of the presence of a chiral center, which is an atom that is bonded to four different groups of atoms or ligands. Chiral molecules can exist in two different forms, known as enantiomers, which are mirror images of each other but are not superimposable. These enantiomers are also known as optical isomers and they can rotate the plane of polarized light in opposite directions.
Chirality is a fundamental concept in chemistry, particularly in organic and biomolecular chemistry, and plays an important role in the properties and biological activity of molecules.
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The chiral object has a mirror image that is different from the original object.
The relationship between sea shells and its mirror images is that they are non-super impossible (non-identical) mirror images of each other.