[CHM 111] Formal Charge

[Andrew J. Pounds]

So the formal charges will not always be zero.   The two rules you need
to know are as follows:

1. The best Lewis diagram to represent the ground state electron
configuration for a molecule will have the smallest MAGNITUDE of formal
charge.

2. If you have multiple Lewis diagrams that all have a minimal magnitude
of formal charge, then the one that places the most negative formal
charge on the most electronegative atom is the best representation of
the electronic environment for that molecule.


On 6/16/19 11:07 AM,  wrote:
> Hey Dr. Pounds, 
>
> For the test, would you let us know if you wanted all the formal charges to be 0 or they always need to be 0 to make sure you have correctly drawn the structure. The reason I am asking because on sapling some say with the formal charge being 0 and others don’t say anything about the charge. 
>
>
> Happy Father’s Day! 
>

-- 
Andrew J. Pounds, Ph.D.  (pounds_aj at mercer.edu)
Professor of Chemistry and Computer Science
Director of the Computational Science Program
Mercer University,  Macon, GA 31207   (478) 301-5627