Which of the following fundamental statements regarding standard racemic mixtures ( or ) are mathema — Isomerism and Stereochemistry Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

Racemic mixtures possess zero net optical rotation because the equal and opposite rotations of the constituent enantiomers physically cancel each other out (external compensation). Because enantiomers share identical boiling points, fractional distillation is useless. Chemical resolution (using a chiral resolving agent to form separable diastereomers) is required to split the 50:50 blend.