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If the optical rotation of a new compound is measured and found to have a specific
Chapter 3, Problem 3.29(choose chapter or problem)
If the optical rotation of a new compound is measured and found to have a specific rota-tion of 140, how can you tell if the actual rotation is not really 140 plus some multiple of1360? In other words, how can you tell if the rotation is not actually a value such as 1400or 1760?
Questions & Answers
QUESTION:
If the optical rotation of a new compound is measured and found to have a specific rota-tion of 140, how can you tell if the actual rotation is not really 140 plus some multiple of1360? In other words, how can you tell if the rotation is not actually a value such as 1400or 1760?
ANSWER:Key concepts
Specific rotation
Specific rotation is a measure of the optical activity of a chiral molecule. It is defined as the amount of rotation of the plane of polarized light by a sample of a substance, in a defined temperature and concentration, compared to a reference substance (sugar solution).
It is reported as the angle of rotation 
Racemic mixture
A racemic mixture is a mixture of both enantiomers of a compound. Optical purity is experimentally determined and calculates how much of a given enantiomer is in a solution. This is calculated by
Enantiomeric excess (ee)
An enantiomeric excess (ee) is the difference between a percentage of two enantiomers in a mixture. This is calculated by
Step 1 of 2
Specific rotation is a measure of the optical activity of a chiral molecule, it can be find by