EXPERIMENT NO.

7
POLARIMETRY
PRELAB EXERCISES

NAME: JAVIER, JESSE LOUISE L. DATE: MAY 12, 2020

PROFESSOR : ENGR. ROLLY UMANDAL SCORE:________________

1. Define the following: a. Optical isomerism b. Chiral substance c. Racemic mixtures

a.) Optical Isomerism: are two compounds which contain the same number and kinds of
atoms, and bonds, and different spatial arrangements of the atoms, but it has a non-
superimposable mirror images.

b.) Chiral Substance: substance that are chiral, which means, non-superimposable
mirror image of each other. It can be visualized when looking into our hands, if we put
one over another, it is non-superimposable.

c.) Racemic Mixtures: is one that has equal amounts of left- and right-handed
enantiomers of a chiral molecule.

2. Differentiate and give examples of compounds that are dextrorotatory and levorotatory.

Dextrorotation and levorotation are terms used in chemistry and physics to describe the
optical rotation of plane-polarized light. From the point of view of the observer, dextrorotation
refers to clockwise or right-handed rotation, and levorotation refers to counterclockwise or left-
handed rotation. (Examples: L-analine and D-alanine)

3. Disuss the operation of polarimeter.

Polarimeter is the instrument used to study the optical rotation of chiral molecules. A
polarimeter is equipped with a light source providing light vibrating in all planes. A fixed
polarizer then isolates light vibrating in all single plane, projects the lights through a tube filled
with a solution of chiral compound, and measures the amount of rotation.