How many stereoisomers are possible for 2-chlorocyclopentanol? which are pairs of enantiomers and which are meso compounds?

1 Answer
Feb 14, 2016

There are four stereoisomers of 2-chlorocyclopentanol, consisting of two enantiomeric pairs.

Explanation:

First, draw the structure of 2-chlorocyclopentanol.

structure

We see that there are two chiral centres, so there are #2^2 = 4# possible stereoisomers.

Draw the four structures:

  • one with two wedges, and its mirror image
  • one with a wedge and a dash, and its mirror image

stereoisomers

None of the structures has an internal mirror plane, so there are no meso compounds.

The top two structures are one enantiomeric pair, and the bottom two structures are another enantiomeric pair.