radicals

[Nan_Guan_1L]

for question 2c1 on the textbook. the answer said that only a and b are radicals. but what about c? OH has 7 electrons in total, doesn't that make it a radical, with an unpaired electron on O?

[Jenny Lee 2L]

Hello! The textbook actually says that b and c are radicals. Option a would not be a radical, because there are no unpaired lone electrons as seen in its lewis structure. So you are correct that OH is a radical!

[Leyna Tran 2D]

yes, you are correct. radicals are ones where there is an unpaired valence electron. There is an odd number of electrons. So, b and c are the molecules with an odd number of valence electrons.

[Shrey Pawar 2A]

If there are an odd number of valence electrons in total, the lewis structure usually has a radical present. When you count the valence of both b and c you can see this is the case.

[Kelly Tran 1J]

I agree with the above posts. Radicals are exceptions to the octet rule since they have an unpaired electron or an odd number of electrons. Since, CH3 and OH have 7 electrons, there will be an unpair electron in the lewis structure.