Isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but with different structural formulas. As part of the lesson, the professor drew structures in front and our task was to determine whether the said structures were isomers or just the same compound.
It is easy to determine that the compounds above are isomers based on which carbon the amino group (NH2) is attached. On the structure at the left, NH2 is attached to the 2nd carbon. For the one in the middle, NH2 is attached on the 3rd carbon and for the last one, NH2 is seen on the 4th carbon thus proving the difference on their structural formulas.
On this example, the compounds are also isomers as N is placed differently on each compound. To make sure that the compounds are really isomers and not just the same structure, one may try naming each one. Variations in the name generated such as with that seen above already indicate that their structural formulas differ from each other.
The concept of isomerism is basically simple to understand given that one already understands fully how to name structural formulas. In my perspective, the confusing part that may lead to errors in distinguishing identical structures from isomers is in the numbering of the longest carbon chain but once the skills in naming is mastered, I suppose that there wouldn't be further problems regarding the topic.
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