Resonance vs. Resonance Hybrid

[Kelsey Ash 1D]

Is there a difference between resonance and resonance hybrid structures and if so what is it because I have been getting confused as to when I need to put the double headed arrow between the different molecules.

[A Raab 1K]

They are the same thing. Resonance structures show how the same molecule can be drawn different ways depending on what orientation you draw the different bonds, whereas resonance hybrids is just another term to emphasis the actual structure of molecules, which is that the bonds all have the same length (for example, if there's a double bond in the resonance structure, in real life, the bonds are all slightly shorter, each bond is not a different length). The double arrow is for drawing and indicating different equivalent structures.

[Edmund Zhi 2B]

You could think of resonance structures as the underlying idea behind molecules, resonance hybrids are what occur in actuality