If the interchange of two ligands on an atom in a molecule results in a stereoisomer of the molecule, the atom is called a stereocenter or stereogenic center.
The molecule on the right is the same as the molecule on the left, yet no stereochemistry has been provided to us, so we can assume that the chirality is ambiguous and it is a 1:1 mixture of enantiome...The molecule on the right is the same as the molecule on the left, yet no stereochemistry has been provided to us, so we can assume that the chirality is ambiguous and it is a 1:1 mixture of enantiomers (racemic mixture). The top half of the molecule would rotate the molecule in one direction while the bottom half of the molecule (since it is a mirror image) would rotate it the opposite way.
If a molecule has three stereocenters, there should be a maximum of eight stereoisomers. So, the maximum number of stereoisomers for a particular constitution is 2 n , when n is the number of chiral c...If a molecule has three stereocenters, there should be a maximum of eight stereoisomers. So, the maximum number of stereoisomers for a particular constitution is 2 n , when n is the number of chiral centers. In summary, for a molecule with two chiral, non-racemic, non-meso stereocenters, there are four possible isomers – two pairs of enantiomers. As a general rule, when comparing stereoisomers, if one stereocenter changes R/S designation and the other stays the same, they are diastereomers.
