Racemic tartaric acid is optically inactive due toa)External compensat...
Racemic tartaric acid is optically inactive due to external compensation.
Racemic tartaric acid is an equimolar mixture of optically active d- and l- forms. This form of tartaric acid is optically inactive due to external compensation.
Racemic tartaric acid is optically inactive due toa)External compensat...
External Compensation in Racemic Tartaric Acid:
When a compound is optically inactive, it means that it does not rotate the plane of polarized light. In the case of racemic tartaric acid, it is optically inactive due to external compensation.
Explanation:
- External compensation: Racemic tartaric acid consists of equal amounts of two enantiomers, d-tartaric acid, and l-tartaric acid. These enantiomers have opposite optical activities, meaning they rotate plane-polarized light in opposite directions. When equal amounts of these enantiomers are present in a mixture, their optical activities cancel each other out, resulting in the overall compound being optically inactive.
- Internal compensation: Although racemic tartaric acid does not have a plane of symmetry, it still exhibits optical inactivity due to the external compensation provided by the equal amounts of the two enantiomers.
- Presence of a plane of symmetry: While the presence of a plane of symmetry in a compound can also lead to optical inactivity, racemic tartaric acid does not have a plane of symmetry. Instead, it relies on the external compensation between its enantiomers.
Therefore, the correct explanation for the optical inactivity of racemic tartaric acid is external compensation, where the equal amounts of d-tartaric acid and l-tartaric acid cancel out each other's optical activities.