What is the stereochemical configuration of 2-bromo-3-methylpentane at the chira
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the stereochemical configuration of 2-bromo-3-methylpentane at the chiral center?
R
S
E
Z
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the stereochemical configuration of 2-bromo-3-methylpentane at the chiral center?
Step 1: Identify the chiral center in 2-bromo-3-methylpentane. A chiral center is a carbon atom that is attached to four different groups.
Step 2: Look at the carbon atom at position 2, which is attached to a bromine (Br), a methyl group (CH3), an ethyl group (C2H5), and the rest of the pentane chain.
Step 3: Assign priorities to the four groups based on atomic number. The group with the highest atomic number gets the highest priority.
Step 4: The bromine (Br) has the highest priority (1), followed by the ethyl group (2), the methyl group (3), and the hydrogen (H) which is the lowest priority (4).
Step 5: Arrange the groups in order of priority around the chiral center. If you look from the lowest priority group (H) to the highest (Br), determine the direction of the arrangement.
Step 6: If the arrangement of the highest priority groups (Br, ethyl, methyl) goes in a clockwise direction, the configuration is R. If it goes counterclockwise, it is S.
Step 7: In this case, the arrangement is clockwise, so the stereochemical configuration of 2-bromo-3-methylpentane at the chiral center is R.
