Exploring Mirror Image Structures

In the previous section we looked at strategies for creating a molecule's mirror image. In this activity you will generate mirror images and explore some of their properties.

Action
  1. The JSmol viewer on the left is editable. Open the JSmol menu (right-click on a computer) and replace hydrogen atoms with Cl, O, and Br to make a chiral molecule. On a phone, rotate to landscape or tap Larger view.
  2. The viewer on the right is the live mirror image of the structure you are building. What do you notice about the chirality of these two molecules?

Rotate your phone to landscape to compare the mirror images more easily.

Edit the original on the left. The right side is its live mirror image.

Original (edit)
Mirror image

The glass strip is a mirror plane seen edge-on (perpendicular to the screen).