Q54 E_c. - Organic Chemistry (Mcmurry)

Question

Ribose, an essential part of ribonucleic acid (RNA), has the following structure:

(a) How many chirality centers does ribose have? Identify them.

(b) How many stereoisomers of ribose are there?

(c) Draw the structure of the enantiomer of ribose.

1. Draw the structure of a diastereomer of ribose.

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

(c) The structure of the enantiomer of ribose is,

Enantiomer

Enantiomers are stereoisomers, and when drawn, become mirror images of one another. The wedges become dash, and the dash becomes wedges by keeping the whole molecule the same.

The structure of the enantiomer of ribose

(c) The structure of the enantiomer of ribose is drawn by taking the mirror image of the given ribose. The groups above the plane go below, and those below the plane go above.

                                                           Enantiomer of ribose