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How many chiral carbons are in the molecule below?

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The given molecule possesses two chiral carbons, which are identified on the left and right sides of the double bond. These chiral centers result from the carbon atoms having four distinct substituents, contributing to the molecule's overall stereochemistry.

Now, let’s look at the molecule in the image you sent. It has the following structure:

H O

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H - C - C = C - C - C - OH

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H H H H

To count the number of chiral carbons in this molecule, we need to identify the carbon atoms that have four different substituents. We can see that the carbon atoms on the left and right ends of the molecule have three hydrogen atoms and one carbon atom attached to them, so they are not chiral.

The carbon atom in the middle of the double bond has two hydrogen atoms and two carbon atoms attached to it, so it is also not chiral. The carbon atom on the left side of the double bond has one hydrogen atom, one oxygen atom, and two carbon atoms attached to it, so it is chiral.

The carbon atom on the right side of the double bond has one hydrogen atom, one double bond, and two carbon atoms attached to it, so it is also chiral. Therefore, the molecule has two chiral carbons, marked with asterisks below:

H O

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H - C* - C = C* - C - C - OH

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H H H H

How many chiral carbons are in the molecule below?-example-1
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