Optical Activity of 2-Butanol Mixture

Hard Organic Chemistry Stereochemistry

Consider the organic compound 2-butanol, which exists in two enantiomeric forms: R-2-butanol and S-2-butanol. Each of these forms has specific interactions with polarized light due to their chiral nature. When placed in a plane-polarized light field, R-2-butanol rotates the light in a clockwise direction whereas S-2-butanol rotates it counterclockwise.

Assuming you have a sample containing a racemic mixture of both enantiomers in equal amounts, how would you describe the optical activity of this mixture when analyzed under polarized light?

The mixture will exhibit no optical activity.

The mixture will rotate polarized light clockwise.

The mixture will rotate polarized light counterclockwise.

The mixture will exhibit enhanced optical activity compared to the individual enantiomers.

Hint

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