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Chiral and Achiral Objects

A snail shell, pencil, glove, hand, and molecular models are shown with their mirror reflections.

Snail Shell (Chiral)


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.7 MB
11 seconds

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3 Slides




   
A snail shell is shown with its mirror reflection. They are not superimposable.

Pencil (Achiral)


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.7 MB
10 seconds

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3 Slides




   
A pencil is shown with its mirror reflection. They are superimposable.

Glove (Chiral)


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.7 MB
10 seconds

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3 Slides




   
A glove is shown with its mirror reflection. They are not superimposable.

Hand (Chiral)


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.5 MB
7 seconds

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3 Slides




   
A hand is shown with its mirror reflection. They are not superimposable.

Carbon Atom with 4 Different Substituents (Chiral)


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.9 MB
14 seconds

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4 Slides





 
A carbon atom with four different substituents is shown with its mirror reflection. They are not superimposable.

Carbon Atom with 3 Different Substituents (Achiral)


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1 MB
14 seconds

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4 Slides





 
A carbon atom with three different substituents is shown with its mirror reflection. They are superimposable.

Discussion
A series of familiar objects are shown with their mirror reflections. The mirror is removed and the mirror images tested for superimposability. Chiral objects have nonsuperimposable mirror images and form a pair of enantiomers. Achiral objects have mirror images that are identical (superimposable). The following objects were tested: snail shell (chiral), pencil (achiral), glove (chiral), hand (chiral), a carbon atom with four different substituents (chiral), a carbon atom with three different substituents (achiral).