1. Relative configuration compares the arrangement of atoms in space of one compound to another, while absolute configuration precisely describes the arrangement of atoms in space. 2. Cahn-Ingold-Prelog rules were developed in the 1950s to determine absolute configuration, assigning R or S based on the atomic priorities and spatial arrangement of groups around chiral carbons. 3. To determine absolute configuration using Cahn-Ingold-Prelog rules, groups attached to a chiral carbon are ranked by priority and the molecule is oriented such that the lowest priority group is in the back. Clockwise arrangement is labeled R and counterclockwise is S.