JEE Main Chemistry question

Methylethylpropylamine forms non-superimposable mirror images but does not show optical activity because

(A)Of rapid pyramidal nitrogen inversion ("flipping")Correct
(B)Amines are basic in nature
(C)Nitrogen has a lone pair of electrons
(D)Of the absence of an asymmetric nitrogen

Answer: (A)

Solution

A tertiary amine's nitrogen, bonded to three different groups plus a lone pair, is technically a stereocentre and its two pyramidal mirror-image forms are genuinely non-superimposable. However, nitrogen inversion (the lone pair flipping the

See the full step-by-step solution

Create a free account to read the complete working, and practise questions like this in a timed test.

Create a free account

Question ID VK-150475