All six carbons are achirotopic and equivalent although for the sake of discussion, they have been numbered arbitrarily. All six C-O bonds could have been drawn bold; the result would be the same. Atoms C₂, C₃ and C₄ follow the righthand rule (R_o) relative to C₁ while atoms C₆, C₅ and C₄ form a pathway to C₁ that is lefthanded (S_o). CIP Rule 5 applies giving C₂ priority over C₃. The red arrows follow the lefthanded rule for C₁ --- and the five other equivalent, achirotopic carbons --- making it of the s-configuration. Return to the previous page.