Isomers Lab Report Essay

In this experiment, different properties of stereoisomers, specifically enantiomers and diastereomers, were analyzed. R-Carvone and S-Carvone, which are enantiomers, were analyzed for opposite plane polarization and different odor. An isomerization was performed on dimethyl maleate to convert it into dimethyl fumarate, a diastereomer.

Isomers are compounds with the same empirical formula, but with different arrangements of the elements. Enantiomers, a type of isomer, are two compounds that are chemically similar, but are arranged as non-superimposable mirror images of each other. Enantiomers tend to have many similar chemical properties, such as melting point and solubility. In this experiment a pair of enantiomers, S-Carvone and R-Carvone

This melting point data confirms that isomerization occurred, since the melting point of dimethyl maleate is only -17℃, while the melting point of dimethyl fumarate is 102-105℃. This also highlights the fact that diastereomers have different chemical properties, such as melting point. Since the experimental melting point range almost overlaps with the expected range, there is little error in this measurement. The small amount of error could have occurred from the MelTemp temperature rising too quickly, leading to errors when reading the

The results were expected, since a difference in the odors of the enantiomers was detected, and the polarimeter showed that the two enantiomers rotated light to about the same degree in opposite directions. In the polarimetry experiment, the two absolute values of degrees of rotation were not exactly identical due to small errors caused by dust or other impurities in the sample. In the oil wafting experiment, some may not have been able to differentiate between the two enantiomers if their noses lacked the chiral receptors required to recognize this