Resonance Structures

[Meredith2E]

Might be an obvious answer, but can anybody explain what is the difference between resonance structure and resonance hybrid?

[Crystal Yu 1D]

Based on what I understood from the lecture, resonance structures are all the possible structures when a single Lewis structure can't show the possible structure of the molecule. A resonance hybrid is the combination of all those possible resonance structures. Hope this helps :)

[Alison Perkins 2B]

Yes! A resonance structure can be any of the possible structures (ex: In C6H6 there are 2 resonance structures bc of double bond placement.
A resonance hybrid is the combination of all of these structures (ex: in C6H6 the diagram with the circle in the middle represents the resonance of those placements of double bonds.)
Hope that helps !

[Melis Kasaba 2B]

I'm pretty sure a resonance structure is just one Lewis structure that can't completely describe the bonding. A resonance hybrid represents the overall delocalization of e– within the molecule by combining multiple possible resonance structures.

[Stuti Pradhan 2J]

A resonance structure shows a possible bonding arrangement, and there can be multiple resonance structures that all show possible arrangements of the bonds in the molecule. However, a resonance hybrid is an average of all the resonance structures, and it more accurately depicts the relative structure of the molecule.

For example, there are two resonance structures for benzene (with double bonds on one set of three C-C bonds vs on another set of three C-C bonds). The resonance hybrid includes a dashed line or a ring to show an average of both resonance structures and to display the delocalized electrons.

Hope this helps!

[Meredith2E]

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE HELP! This really does clear it up :)

[Brianna Chen 3F]

A resonance hybrid is a structure that averages the bond lengths from all of the resonance structures, so it is basically a collective representation of a molecule.

[Earl Garrovillo 2L]

Resonance structures are the individual structures of a particular molecule. In a sense, it's each possible drawing where the bond(s) is/are shifting. The resonance hybrid is the mix of all these resonance structures. Like in the case of benzene, the resonance structures are the two possible hexagons with different bond configurations while the resonance hybrid is the hexagon with a circle in the middle signifying that the bonds are shared between all the carbons.

[Akriti Ratti 1H]

A resonance hybrid is a combination of all the resonance structures.

[George_Yin_3I]

Resonance structures are used when a single Lewis structure cannot fully describe the bonding. Resonance hybrid represents the combination of possible resonance structures.

[George_Yin_3I]

Resonance structures are used when a single Lewis structure cannot fully describe the bonding. Resonance hybrid represents the combination of possible resonance structures.