Given the compounds 2,3-dimethylpentane and 2,4-dimethylpentane, which of the following is true?
A) Only 2,3-dimethylpentane is chiral.
B) Only 2,4-dimethylpentane is chiral.
C) Both are chiral.
D) Neither is chiral.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A molecule is chiral if it has a non-superimposable mirror image, in other words, it cannot be rotated in a way that the mirror image perfectly overlaps the original molecule. To determine if a molecule is chiral, we look for the presence of a chiral center, which is an atom with four different substituents bonded to it. In 2,3-dimethylpentane, there are two chiral centers (highlighted in bold):
CH3-CH(CH3)-CH(CH3)-CH2-CH3
     |                   |
     H                   H
In contrast, in 2,4-dimethylpentane, there is only one chiral center (highlighted in bold):
CH3-CH2-CH(CH3)-C(CH3)-CH3
               |
               H
Therefore, only 2,3-dimethylpentane is chiral since it has two chiral centers, while 2,4-dimethylpentane is not chiral since it only has one chiral center.

Given the Compounds 2,3-Dimethylpentane and 2,4-Dimethylpentane, Which of the Following