For C4H10O a constitutional isomer can be written as C-C-C-C-O-H with hydrogens also coming off of the 4 carbons. I know that this is an alcohol. I need to know if there are stereoisomers for this other than conformers. I think that there are stereoisomers because you can just move the location of the OH.
Is this correct?
Yes, you are correct! In the case of C4H10O, which is an alcohol, there are indeed stereoisomers possible apart from its conformers.
To determine if stereoisomers exist, we need to consider the arrangement of atoms in space. In this compound, the carbon atom bonded to the hydroxyl group (OH) is a stereocenter or a chiral center because it is bonded to four different substituents: three hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. This means that there is potential for the existence of stereoisomers.
For example, the given structure you mentioned, C-C-C-C-O-H, represents one possible constitutional isomer. However, you can also have another stereoisomer by simply changing the arrangement of the atoms around the stereocenter while keeping the same connectivity.
So, if you were to move the location of the OH group to a different carbon atom while maintaining the same connections, you would create a new stereoisomer. This is known as an epimer, which is a type of stereoisomer that differs specifically in the arrangement of groups around a single chiral center.
Therefore, there are stereoisomers for C4H10O that can be obtained by changing the position of the hydroxyl group while keeping the same carbon skeleton.