What do the dashed lines represent in Bond Line Views?

1 Answer
Jun 10, 2015

There are no dashed lines in bond-line views.

Explanation:

But there are dashed lines in wedge-dash views.

For example, the wedge-dash view of one isomer of 3-methylpentan-2-ol is

www.chemeddl.org

In wedge-dash notation,

  • bonds in the plane of the page are drawn as lines
  • bonds coming towards the viewer, out of the paper, are drawn as wedges, with the wide part closest to the viewer.
  • bonds going away from the viewer, behind the paper, are drawn as dashes, with the wide end furthest from the viewer.
  • the "points" of the wedges and dashes are always joined to the atom in the plane of the paper,

In the structure above, the #"OH"# group on #"C-2"# is on a dash. That means that it is behind the plane of the paper and furthest from the viewer.

The #"H"# on #"C-2"# would be shown on a wedge if it were shown explicitly.

The #"CH"_3# group on #"C-3"# is on a wedge. That means that it is in front of the plane of the paper and closest to the viewer.

The #"H"# on #"C-3"# would be shown on a dash if it were shown explicitly.