What does C represent?
Carbon
What does the different colored spheres represent?
Different atoms
What are the 4 lines radiating from each C represent?
Carbon’s 4 bonds
Why is one line thicker and one line dashed?
These represent lines that are extending forward (the thicker line) out of the plane or extending backward (the dashed line) behind the plane of the drawing.
What does A represent?
A is the label for the molecule on the left.
What is the dashed line in the middle called?
Even though it looks like a line, since the molecules are 3 dimensional, it represents a plane. This can be called a plane of symmetry or a plane of reflection.
Are the chemical formulas for the two molecules the same?
Yes, they both contain the same kinds and numbers of atoms.
Are they the same molecule?
No. They are mirror images of each other in the same way that a left hand and a right hand are mirror images. And just like a right hand cannot fit properly into a left-handed glove, one of these molecules cannot necessarily be substituted for another in chemical reactions because they will not interact with other molecules in the same way.
This is an example of chirality, an extremely common and important property in organic chemistry.
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