Radicals

[Siwa Hwang 3G]

Can somebody explain what radicals are? I don’t really understand how the radicals apply to the octet guideline.

Thank you!

[Kayla Law 2D]

A radical is a compound with an unpaired electron! Radicals are unstable and highly reactive, so they only exist for a short time. Radicals are an exception to the octet guideline because they don't have an octet. Since a radical is a compound with an unpaired electron, it will therefore not have a full octet since there is one electron not in a pair. Hope this helps!

[Lindsey_Su_3A]

When will radicals show up? How do we know that a certain compound will have a radical?

[Thomas Vu 1A]

I think the only way to find out whether or not a compound is a radical is to draw out the Lewis structures and taking into account the total number of valence electrons. In radicals, the central atoms tend to have the unpaired electron, but regardless you should just draw out the structure to make sure.

[Emma Ide 2E]

You can determine if something is a radical by drawing out the Lewis structure and looking for an unpaired electron. Radicals are very unstable and usually result from a more stable molecule's bond being broken, and each half of the newly made molecules taking one electron from the previous bond.

[Sandy Lin 1L]

Radicals are compounds that have electrons with unpaired spins, and it is an exception to the octet guideline. Because of this unpaired electron, the compound becomes highly reactive and unstable. When you draw the lewis structure, and there is an odd number of electrons, one of the electrons will remain unpaired. It will just be represented by a dot.

[Siwa Hwang 3G]

okay this makes a lot more sense now. Thank you everyone!

[MinjooPark_3I]

Radicals are compounds that have electrons with unpaired spins, and it is an exception to the octet guideline. Because of this unpaired electron, the compound becomes highly reactive and unstable. When you draw the lewis structure, and there is an odd number of electrons, one of the electrons will remain unpaired. It will just be represented by a dot.

Do we leave the central element with an unpaired electron or would we need to draw out the extra element sharing its electron? Or can it be represented both ways?

[Sandy Lin 1L]

Radicals are compounds that have electrons with unpaired spins, and it is an exception to the octet guideline. Because of this unpaired electron, the compound becomes highly reactive and unstable. When you draw the lewis structure, and there is an odd number of electrons, one of the electrons will remain unpaired. It will just be represented by a dot.

Do we leave the central element with an unpaired electron or would we need to draw out the extra element sharing its electron? Or can it be represented both ways?

You're not allowed to add extra elements that are not present in the original molecule, so you would just leave the unpaired electron. That's what makes it a radical.

[Madison Muggeo 3H]

I had a similar question, so thank you to all that responded!