Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R). Assertion (A): A racemic mixture of butan-2-ol is optically inactive due to internal compensation. Reason (R): A racemic mixture contains equal proportions of two enantiomers, and the optical rotation caused by one isomer is exactly cancelled by the other. In the light of the above statements, choose the most app

Step-by-step solution

Assertion (A) is incorrect because a racemic mixture is optically inactive due to external compensation, not internal compensation. Internal compensation is the reason for the optical inactivity of meso compounds, where one half of the molecule cancels the optical rotation of the other half. Reason (R) is correct as it accurately describes the composition of a racemic mixture. It contains a 1:1 mixture of two enantiomers, meaning the rotation caused by the dextrorotatory isomer is exactly cancelled by the levorotat