Final answer:
A stereospecific reaction selectively reacts with one stereoisomer and produces one stereoisomer in the product. The meso and racemic products are related in terms of their optical activity.
Step-by-step explanation:
A stereospecific reaction is one that selectively reacts with one stereoisomer among the reactant and produces one stereoisomer in the product.
In the case of today's bromination reaction, it is stereospecific and yields only one product.
The product can be either meso or optically active, depending on the reactant used.
The meso and racemic products are related in that they both consist of a mixture of enantiomers.
Meso compounds have an internal plane of symmetry, meaning that even though they have multiple stereocenters, they are optically inactive.
Racemic compounds, on the other hand, do not have a plane of symmetry and therefore they are optically active, but their activity cancels out due to the equal amounts of both enantiomers present.