Question:
The letters ‘D’ or ‘L’ before the name of a stereoisomer of a compound indicates
the correlation of configuration of that particular stereoisomer. This refers to
their relationship with one of the isomers of glyceraldehyde. Predict whether the
following compound has ‘D’ or ‘L’ configuration.
Solution:
The –OH group is linked on the left side of the C5 carbon atom. Hence, the given compound has ‘L’ configuration.