Common Points of Confusion

Before we go further, we should just mention one common point of confusion. Any compound whose molecules do not have a plane of symmetry is chiral. Any sample of a chiral compound that contains molecules all of the same enantiomer is enantiomerically pure. All alanine is chiral (the structure has no plane of symmetry) but lab-produced, alanine is racemic (a 50 50 mixture of enantiomers) whereas naturally isolated alanine is enantiomerically pure. 

Using The Big Picture Common Points of Confusion Sections... 

This is a common point of confusion because many weak bases (e.g., the conjugate base of sulfuric acid) are quite large. Regardless of size, a weak base will always favor taking the Hp that leads to the lowest-potential-energy alkene (the most substituted alkene). 

Reread the Common Points of Confusion sections at the end of ChemActivities 4 and 5. 

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