.
cis-1,2-dimethylcyclobutane
trans-1,2-dimethylcyclobutane
This means that compounds like the two cyclobutanes shown do not inter-convert at room temperature. Thus they exist as distinct stereoisomers.
Recall that stereoisomers have the same atom-to-atom bonding sequence but a different arrangement of the atoms in space.
The images at the right show two different representations of the arrangement of the atoms in these cyclobutanes.
The representation at the left in each case is in 3d looking side-on at the cyclobutane ring.
The representation at the right is in 2d with use of hashes and wedges to show the relative orientation of the two CH3 groups.
It is critical to be able to interconvert between these two representations of cyclic compounds.
The representation at the right is in 2d with use of hashes and wedges to show the relative orientation of the two CH3 groups.
It is critical to be able to interconvert between these two representations of cyclic compounds.