Weblink 14.3 Rotate the structure of mesotartaric acid about the central C–C bond

As the structure originally appears, mesotartaric acid has a centre of inversion, and is therefore not chiral. Rotating about the central C–C bond by 180° results in a structure in which there is a plane of symmetry.

• Click and drag to rotate the structure; hold down shift, then click and drag to zoom.
• Set the step size with the radio buttons and then click on "rotate one step" to rotate the molecule
• Reset to the original angle, or the original orientation using the buttons.