Introductory concept for teaching chirality - symmetry of the asymmetric

Abstract

Chirality is traditionally a problematic subject for undergraduate students at the beginning of learning organic chemistry, yet it is of great importance in life sciences. If the initial introduction of chirality is conducted carelessly, students will face ambiguity through the rest of the course and education every time they come across chirality-related subjects. Although there are numerous methods for overcoming the problems of visualization of chiral molecules in 3D space, the connection of chirality with molecular changes like vibrations and conformations is usually not explained thoroughly. In this work, chirality is introduced on dynamic (real) systems, because students from the start should perceive molecules in their natural state of constant motion and change. Apart from the proposition of the lecture concept, exercises are also included, that employ free and readily available software.

Keywords

• second-year undergraduate
• organic chemistry
• stereochemistry
• pedagogy