Lewis Structures

[Katherine Chhen 3I]

How would we be able to know how many Lewis structures(resonance) a compound has?

[Angela Patel 2J]

You can know by drawing it out. If the molecule has resonance, then it will have the same arrangement of atoms but different ways to share the electrons, i.e. different ways to place a double bond and still satisfy the octet rule/create the most stable molecule. However many ways you can draw it and have it satisfy these properties is how many possibilities there are!

[Angela Patel 2J]

Just remember that none of the lewis structures that we can draw for a molecule with resonance are actually correct, it is a blend of all of the possibilities as we discussed in class.

[Julieta Serobyan4D]

There isn't any specific formula, so yeah you just have to draw every possible outcome. Just remember that pi bonds and sites are always good places to resonate. Also, sp3 hybridized carbons do not do resonance.