Is chiral centers necessary for optical isomerism?

Presence of chiral center is not an essential condition to show optical isomerism. Essential condition is compound should show non-superimposable mirror image.

Can a chiral molecule be optically inactive?

So, yes, answering your question precisely, there are hundreds of compounds which have a chiral carbon, but are optically inactive.

Why chirality is essential for optical activity?

Because chiral molecules are able to rotate the plane of polarization differently by interacting with the electric field differently, they are said to be optically active. In general molecules that rotate light in differen directions are called optical isomers.

What is the necessary and sufficient condition that a molecule is chiral optically active?

Presence of chiral carbon is the necessary and sufficient condition for chirality.

What is the necessary and sufficient condition that a molecule is chiral optically active )?

The presence of a chiral carbon is a sufficient condition for optical activity of a molecule, but not a necessary one: There are molecular structures which allow the molecule to exist in two enantiomers which are mirror images to each other, without any specific carbon atom to be the center of a point chirality.

Are chiral molecules optically active?

As far as I know, all chiral molecules will be optically active. Surprisingly, achiral systems may also be optically active if they aren’t completely isotropic. If you’re just doing basic organic chemistry then all you need to worry about is : chiral molecule = optically active and achiral = not optically active.

Why are chiral centers optically active?

Can a molecule be optically active without a chiral center?

You must remember, however, that the condition for a molecule to be optically active is that it has an isomer that is a non-superimposable mirror image. A chiral center is an easy way to accomplish this, but it is not the only way. One clear example of chiral molecules that feature no chiral center is BINOL:

How can you tell if a molecule is chiral or achiral?

Therefore, lack of such a plane indicates a molecule is chiral. Compounds that contain a single stereo-center are always chiral. Some compounds that contain two or more stereocenters are achiral because of the symmetry of the relationship between the stereocenters. The prefix “en-” often means “to make, or cause to be,” as in “endanger.”

How do chiral molecules interact with plane polarized light?

The micro-physical properties by which chiral molecules interact with plane-polarized light are way, way out of the scope of the MCAT. Just know that if a substance has no ability to bend and spin until it overlaps with its mirror image, it’s chiral, and a uniform sample of one enantiomer of a chiral molecule will bend plane-polarized light.

What does optically active mean in chemistry?

Optically active means they rotate the plane of polarization. Either to the right ( D) or to the left ( L ). If we have a molecule with a chiral (asymmetrical) C -atom in it, it is possible to have two versions of the molecule, one being the mirror image of the other. (try this with the balls-and-sticks).