Q2 · CSIR-NET Chemistry, December 2018
Paper: CSIR-NET December 2018 · Subject: Organic Chemistry · Chapter: General Organic Chemistry · Topic: Stereochemistry R S E Z · Marks: 2 · Difficulty: Medium
Oxidation of A with $\mathrm{HNO}_{3} / \mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}$ provides the product (s), which is (are) 
A
A(a)Optically active as it is racemic mixture
(b)Optically inactive as it is meso
(c)Optically active as it is a single diastereomer
(d)Optically active as it is a single enantiomer
Answer
Answer: B ✓ checked by 4AB · confidence high
Explanation
HNO₃ oxidises both ends to COOH. The zig-zag aldotetrose with its two OH groups on opposite wedge/hash gives the tartaric acid with an internal mirror plane: meso, optically inactive (b).
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