Resonance Structures

[ElizabethP1L]

Should all resonance structures have the same formal charge?

[Odalys Cuevas 1C]

I believe that for resonance structures the formal charge may be different and when choosing which is the better structure you choose the one with the lowest formal charge or closest that adds to zero.

[004985802]

Usually the formal charges will not be consistent because the electron distribution varies between resonance structures

[Lenaschelzig1C]

I think that the resonance structures can have different bond placements, making the formal charge different in some cases. However, if the same elements in each are bonded, then the charge will be the same.

[Elena 1H]

I think the overall formal charge should be the same for each resonance structure, the formal charges of the individual elements in the molecule could be different because of the different bond placements, but overall I think it should be the same.

[Steven Luong 1E]

Resonance structures when drawn are generally the same with the differences being the location of the bond (i.e. single/double/triple). Formal charges should correspond to the element depending on the bond connecting it to the central element.

[Amir Akhavan 1E]

The formal charges do not have to be the same for the different resonance structures.

[Raquel Floyd 1K]

So can a molecule still "have resonance" even if there is one structure that is the most stable form of it?

[Erin Li 1K]

No, resonance structures do not have to have the same formal charge for each element. however, the overall formal charge should be the same. For example, if it was No3-, overall it should have a -1 formal charge for the -

[Kuldeep Gill 1H]

So can a molecule still "have resonance" even if there is one structure that is the most stable form of it?

I had the same question and I asked in TA office hours and they said yes. When we are doing resonance we will probably mostly see resonance as moving the double or triple bonds around but there may be some cases like you mentioned. Hope that helps!