Question

Each atom bonded to the chiral center is assigned a priority. Priority is based on atomic number; the higher the atomic number, the higher the priority. Following are several substituents arranged in order of increasing priority. The atomic number of the atom determining priority is shown in parentheses.

Short answer

Question: Arrange the following atoms in order of increasing priority based on their atomic numbers: Hydrogen, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Fluorine. Answer: Hydrogen (Priority: 1), Carbon (Priority: 2), Nitrogen (Priority: 3), Oxygen (Priority: 4), Fluorine (Priority: 5).

Step-by-step solution

Understand chiral centers and assigning priority

A chiral center is a carbon atom bonded to four different groups, making the molecule non-superimposable on its mirror image (enantiomer). To assign priorities to the atoms bonded to a chiral center, we use the Cahn-Ingold-Prelog (CIP) method, where priority is determined by the atomic number of each atom. The higher the atomic number, the higher the priority. For example, consider the substituents given by the exercise: 1. Hydrogen (Atomic Number = 1) 2. Carbon (Atomic Number = 6) 3. Nitrogen (Atomic Number = 7) 4. Oxygen (Atomic Number = 8) 5. Fluorine (Atomic Number = 9)

Arrange substituents in order of increasing priority

Now that we have the atomic numbers of each atom, we can arrange them in order of increasing priority: 1. Hydrogen (Priority: 1, Atomic Number: 1) 2. Carbon (Priority: 2, Atomic Number: 6) 3. Nitrogen (Priority: 3, Atomic Number: 7) 4. Oxygen (Priority: 4, Atomic Number: 8) 5. Fluorine (Priority: 5, Atomic Number: 9) In conclusion, the substituents have been arranged in order of increasing priority, with hydrogen having the lowest priority and fluorine having the highest priority.