Question

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

Answer 1

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

Explanation:

First, draw the structure of 2-chlorocyclopentanol.

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

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.