{"id":243587,"date":"2025-07-04T14:34:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T14:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=243587"},"modified":"2025-07-04T14:34:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T14:34:11","slug":"how-many-diastereomers-are-there-of-the-molecule-shown-below-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/04\/how-many-diastereomers-are-there-of-the-molecule-shown-below-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How many diastereomers are there of the molecule shown below"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How many diastereomers are there of the molecule shown below? OH<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To determine the number of diastereomers of the given molecule, we first need to analyze its structure and identify all its possible stereoisomers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Identify the Stereocenters:<\/strong>\u00a0The molecule is cyclopentane-1,3-diol. The carbon atoms at positions 1 and 3, which are bonded to the hydroxyl (-OH) groups, are both chiral centers (or stereocenters). Each is attached to four different groups: an -OH group, a hydrogen atom (implied), and two different carbon pathways within the ring. With two stereocenters (n=2), the maximum possible number of stereoisomers is 2^n = 2^2 = 4.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Analyze the Given Isomer:<\/strong>\u00a0The image shows a specific stereoisomer where both -OH groups are pointing towards the viewer (indicated by the solid wedges). This is the\u00a0cis<\/em>\u00a0isomer. We must check for internal symmetry. This\u00a0cis<\/em>-1,3-cyclopentanediol molecule has a plane of symmetry that passes through the C2 carbon and bisects the C4-C5 bond. A molecule with chiral centers and a plane of symmetry is called a meso compound. Meso compounds are achiral and are superimposable on their mirror images. Therefore, there is only one\u00a0cis<\/em>\u00a0isomer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Identify Other Stereoisomers:<\/strong>\u00a0The other possible stereoisomers are the\u00a0trans<\/em>\u00a0isomers, where one -OH group points up (wedge) and the other points down (dash). The\u00a0trans<\/em>\u00a0configuration lacks a plane of symmetry, making it chiral. A chiral molecule is non-superimposable on its mirror image. Consequently, the\u00a0trans<\/em>\u00a0isomer exists as a pair of enantiomers (non-superimposable mirror images).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Count Total Stereoisomers:<\/strong>\u00a0In total, there are three stereoisomers of cyclopentane-1,3-diol:\n
      \n
    • The single\u00a0cis<\/em>\u00a0isomer (a meso compound), which is the molecule shown in the question.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • A pair of\u00a0trans<\/em>\u00a0enantiomers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Determine the Number of Diastereomers:<\/strong>\u00a0The question asks for the number of diastereomers of the given molecule (the\u00a0cis<\/em>-meso isomer). Diastereomers are stereoisomers that are not mirror images of each other.\n
        \n
      • The relationship between the\u00a0cis<\/em>\u00a0(meso) isomer and either of the\u00a0trans<\/em>\u00a0enantiomers is that they are stereoisomers but not mirror images.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Therefore, both\u00a0trans<\/em>\u00a0enantiomers are diastereomers of the original\u00a0cis<\/em>\u00a0molecule.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        The given molecule has two diastereomers: the two chiral trans<\/em> isomers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        How many diastereomers are there of the molecule shown below? OH The Correct Answer and Explanation is: To determine the number of diastereomers of the given molecule, we first need to analyze its structure and identify all its possible stereoisomers. The given molecule has two diastereomers: the two chiral trans isomers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-243587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243587\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}