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Formal Charge

Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 6:17 pm
by Amoreno Section 1E
Is the lewis structure more stable when its formal charge is equal to zero?

Re: Formal Charge

Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 6:40 pm
by Gwyndolyn
Yes it is. You want the formal charges to be zero or if you're picking between varying lewis structures, you want the structure where the formal charges are lowest, if not zero. But the sum of the formal charges must add up to the overall charge of the compound, so in some cases you wouldn't have all the formal charges to be 0, if the compound is for example, 2-.

Re: Formal Charge

Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 11:30 pm
by JD Malana
Is it possible that two different arrangements have the same formal charge? In that case, would either arrangement suffice?