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How does a chiral molecule differ from an achiral molecule?

Answer 1

How do gloves differ from mittens?

When it comes to mittens, most achiral species (the ones your cats don't lose) fit on either the left or the right hand. However, when it comes to fingered gloves, you can't wear a right-handed glove on your left hand unless you turn it inside out.

A left-handed molecule differs optically from its right-handed mirror image in the same way that a chiral molecule CANNOT be superimposed upon its mirror image. Given the stereochemistry of sugars and proteins, the interaction of a left-handed molecule with another chiral species will differ from that of its right-handed isomer, which is the origin of biological isomerism.

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Answer 2

Ava Andrews

A chiral molecule is non-superimposable on its mirror image, while an achiral molecule is superimposable on its mirror image.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.