CHEMISTRY COMMUNITY

So if these is resonance for a specific molecule, does it mean that there are three slightly different structures that exist for this one molecule? Or it just means that we can write its Lewis structure in three different ways?

When a molecule has resonance it means its structure is always switching or changing. It doesn't always have to be 3 shapes or bond lengths that it switches between; it can be 2 or 4 ect. And it is not that 3 different structures exist of the molecule, but rather that the molecule is constantly switching between 3 different structures and moving its varied bond lengths between different atoms.

Basically, Lewis structures are an oversimplification of what the molecule actually looks like. There can be multiple ways to draw the same structure (doesn't just have to be three ways, but can be 2+) because the molecule is constantly switching which bonds are double and single. This also explains why the actual molecule's bond lengths are the average of all of the resonance structures.

When a molecule has resonance, it means that it can exist in different ways. The bonding can change on these molecules and it can be shown through different Lewis dot structures.

Resonance means that a molecule can have a certain bond in multiple different areas while still being the same molecule. Lewis structures can only show one of these formations at a time.

A molecule that has resonance has multiple lewis dot structures with double or triple bonds that can appear in multiple places, not necessarily that it has different lewis dot structures because chemical species that experience resonance technically have the same lewis structure, just different versions.

Resonance indicates that you can put double bonds in different positions when drawing lewis structures.

The Lewis structure is a simplification for the structure of the molecule but it is helpful to visualize it. The bonds can be written in as many ways as the bonds can be arranged which indicates resonance. The actual molecule is an average of the resonance structures.

Resonance just means you can write a Lewis structure in different ways, you can write bonds in different ways, but it is still the same molecule.

Having resonance does not necessarily mean that there are exactly three ways to draw the Lewis structure. Rather, resonance means that the molecule being examined has more a more complex bonding structure. A Lewis structure is a simplification of what a molecule really is, as demonstrated by the difference between experimental and theoretical bond lengths discussed in lecture when going over resonance.

Resonance doesn't mean that the molecule has different structures, rather that the Lewis structure for it can be arranged in various ways (not just three).