3.2 Lots of carbon compounds seem to be isomers. What is an isomer? In organic chemistry, there are many examples of different compounds which have the same molecular formula as each other, but different arrangements of the atoms in their molecules, (different structural formulae). These compounds are said to be isomers of one another. Isomerism also occurs in inorganic chemistry, but it is less common. There are two types of isomerism common in organic chemistry: structural …showed first 75 words of 2320 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2320 total…isomers may come from some source other than an asymmetrical carbon atom, e.g., structural rigidity resulting from double bonds or ring structures within a molecule. 9 Stereoisomers are important in metabolism; in many cases only one of several isomeric forms of a compound can take part in biochemical reactions. For example, there are 16 stereoisomers of a simple sugar whose molecular formula is C6H12O4. Of these, only d-glucose is readily utilized in human metabolism.