Chemistry › Section G · Chemical bonding and molecular geometry › Topic G.4
Formal charge and resonance
The five-step method sometimes gives more than one acceptable Lewis structure. Formal charge helps you pick the most reasonable one, and resonance explains the molecules that no single structure can describe.
In this topic
- When one Lewis structure is not enough
- Calculating formal charge
- Worked example: ammonium and tetrafluoroborate
- Formal charge is bookkeeping
- Choosing the best structure
- Worked example: HCN or HNC, and phosgene
- Resonance: the ozone puzzle
- The resonance hybrid
- Worked example: the nitrate ion
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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