Unit 2 · Compound Structure and Properties

Chapter 2.3

Lewis Diagrams, Resonance, and Formal Charge

Ozone's two bonds should be different lengths if either Lewis diagram were true, and they are exactly equal. The molecule is not flipping between pictures; the picture was never complete.

lesson 7 of 45

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By the end

  1. 01Draw a Lewis diagram for a molecule or polyatomic ion by the standard construction rules
  2. 02Draw resonance structures where equivalent diagrams exist and explain what they mean together
  3. 03Use formal charge and the octet rule to choose among nonequivalent diagrams
  4. 04Recognize where the Lewis model fails, including odd-electron species

In unit 2

  1. 2.1Types of Bonds and the Energy of Holding Atoms Together
  2. 2.2Ionic Solids, Metals, and Alloys: How Solids Are Built
  3. 2.3Lewis Diagrams, Resonance, and Formal Charge
  4. 2.4The Shapes of Molecules: VSEPR, Hybridization, and Polarity
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