Which statement about enantiomers is false?

• A. Enantiomers have identical physical properties except for the direction in which they rotate plane-polarized light.
• B. Enantiomers have opposite configurations at all chiral centers.
• C. Enantiomers have different chemical reactivity toward achiral reagents.
• D. Enantiomers are non-superimposable mirror images of each other.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the definition of enantiomers. Enantiomers are stereoisomers that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other, meaning they have opposite configurations at all chiral centers.
2. Step 2: Recall that enantiomers have identical physical properties such as melting point, boiling point, and solubility, except for their interaction with plane-polarized light, where they rotate light in opposite directions.
3. Step 3: Recognize that enantiomers generally have the same chemical reactivity toward achiral reagents because achiral reagents do not differentiate between the two mirror images.
4. Step 4: Identify that the statement claiming enantiomers have different chemical reactivity toward achiral reagents is false, as this contradicts the fundamental property of enantiomers.
5. Step 5: Summarize that the false statement is the one about different chemical reactivity toward achiral reagents, while the other statements correctly describe enantiomers.