A) Lactic acid
B) Benzoic acid
C) Oxalic acid
D) Acetic acid
Correct Answer: A
Solution :
Key Idea A compound could be optically active only when it contains at least one asymmetric carbon atom or a chiral centre (A carbon atom which is attached by four different group is called an asymmetric carbon atom or chiral centre) Lactic acid is\[C{{H}_{3}}-\overset{\begin{smallmatrix} H \\ | \end{smallmatrix}}{\mathop{{{\underset{\begin{smallmatrix} | \\ OH \end{smallmatrix}}{\mathop{C}}\,}^{*}}}}\,-COOH\] It has one asymmetric carbon atom or chiral centre. So, it shows optical activity. While in benzoic acid \[({{C}_{6}}{{H}_{5}}COOH)\], oxalic acid \[\left( \begin{align} & COOH \\ & | \\ & COOH \\ \end{align} \right)\] and acetic acid \[(C{{H}_{3}}COOH)\] there is no asymmetric carbon atom hence, these are optically inactive.
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