[Theresa Lee]

Hey guys, do you have any suggestion on converting oxalic acid to tartaric acid? I've spend few hours thinking about this and still I can't come up with an idea.

[sjb]

Hey guys, do you have any suggestion on converting oxalic acid to tartaric acid? I've spend few hours thinking about this and still I can't come up with an idea.

what sort of scale? any particular isomer of tartartic acid?

[Theresa Lee]

Not an isomer. Conversion of the oxalic acid to tartaric acid as enclosed below. 

[sjb]

Yes, I know the structures. But tartaric acid exists in three forms, (R,R), (S,S), and meso. Do you mean a mixture of all three is potentially OK. What do you need the tartaric for?

[Theresa Lee]

Sorry but I never heard of the three forms of tartaric acid you've mentioned. Well, this is just a simple A-level question, it is just ask for conversion. It may require few stages but I could not figure it out.

[billnotgatez]

Just an entry to provide links should anyone want further reading (like me)
---
Oxalic acid
ethanedioic acid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalic_acid
---
tartartic acid
2,3-dihydroxybutanedioic acid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartaric_acid

[Babcock_Hall]

@OP

Would you characterize the chemistry of this transformation for us?  Are you adding/subtracting carbons?  Is it an oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis, elimination, or something else?  In other words, what do you think is chemically happening?