Label the eight chiral centers in cholesterol. How many stereoisomers are possible for

Key concepts

Stereoisomers

Stereoisomers are isomers that have the same chemical formula and bond connectivity, but differ in the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in space. They are also known as geometric isomers or spatial isomers.

Chiral center

A chiral center, also known as a stereogenic center, is an atom in a molecule that is bonded to four different groups of atoms or ligands. This causes the molecule to be non superimposable on its mirror image, meaning it cannot be superimposed on its own mirror image. This makes the molecule chiral.

Step 1 of 2

Structure of cholesterol

For finding the number of stereoisomers, first we need to find the number of chiral centers.