- Which sugars did Emil Fischer synthesize, and what did that prove about molecular structure?
- Why did most chemists in the 1880s doubt that spatial arrangement of atoms in a molecule was physically real?
Stereochemistry
The three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in molecules.
- How did Haworth determine the ring structure of vitamin C and name it ascorbic acid?
- How did Odd Hassel prove that cyclohexane forms a 'chair' shape rather than lying flat?
- What did Derek Barton show about how a molecule's 3D shape affects its chemical reactions?
- Why does conformational analysis matter for designing drugs?
- What are sugar nucleotides, and why does the cell need them to build complex carbohydrates?