2B.18 c

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alice_2B
Posts: 43
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2024 7:43 am

2B.18 c

Postby alice_2B » Sat Nov 02, 2024 8:26 pm

The lewis structure of CO, and find the formal charge of each atom. The way I initially had found the lewis structure to be was C with one lone pair and a double bond with oxygen (FC(C) = 4-(2+2)=0) and oxygen with two lone pairs (FC(O)= 6-(4+2)=0). This appears to be optimal because both charges are 0. However, many resources write the answer like this: Image. Why is this the right answer?

Wendy Phung
Posts: 40
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2024 7:12 am

Re: 2B.18 c

Postby Wendy Phung » Sat Nov 02, 2024 10:55 pm

Both of these Lewis structure models are correct because CO has multiple resonance structures. Since this molecule has resonance, both of these structures are possible, but the one with a triple bond is shown because it has a higher percent contribution to the structure than the other resonance structures.


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