How Many Enantiomeric Pairs are Possible for a Aldohexose

Question

How many enantiomeric pairs are possible for a aldohexose?
A) 2
B) 4
C) 8
D) 16

Accepted Answer

Aldohexoses have four chiral centers, leading to 2^4 = 16 stereoisomers. However, since enantiomers are mirror images, the 16 stereoisomers are divided into 8 enantiomeric pairs.