Question

Draw the structure of a meso compound that has five carbons and three chirality centers.

Short answer

Chirality centers are carbon atoms consisting of four different groups attached.Only one chiral center makes the whole molecule chiral, and these molecules are tetrahedral compounds.

Step-by-step solution

Chirality centers

Chirality centers are carbon atoms consisting of four different groups attached.Only one chiral center makes the whole molecule chiral, and these molecules are tetrahedral compounds.

The structure of a meso compound with five carbons and three chirality centers

The compounds given below are diastereomers because they are non-superimposable. These are also meso compounds with three chiral centers. Both have a plane of symmetry passing from a third carbon horizontally. The central carbon contains four different groups—one group has R configuration, one has S configuration, one group is -OH, and one group is -H.

Structure of a meso compound