Resonance Hyrbid

[Jenaye Brelland 2I]

A Resonance hybrid energy is lower than the Lewis resonance structures right? It is more stable but it is delocalized making it lower in energy? I had someone tell me that hybrids are higher in energy...

[Saumya Tawakley 1E]

I believe that resonance hybrids are overall lower in energy than the individual resonance structures for the reasons you mentioned. It wouldn't make sense for hybrids to be higher in energy otherwise molecules in nature would never exhibit a resonance hybrid structure since that would be energetically unfavorable (they would rather just have normal resonance structures).

[Lily Kiamanesh 2G]

Hi! I believe that resonance hybrids are lower in energy than individual resonance structures because that is the true electron distribution found in nature, so it is the most favorable form.

[LeanneBagood_2F]

this is a bit of a dumb question but what exactly do we mean when we say something is delocalized? i've seen it in a couple of posts and im a bit confused as to what that exactly means

[Tae Pasawat 2A]

this is a bit of a dumb question but what exactly do we mean when we say something is delocalized? i've seen it in a couple of posts and im a bit confused as to what that exactly means

Hi the term delocalized is used to refer to an electrons activity! so if it is delocalized, it means that it is not stuck in a local position, it is free to move between a larger area. The electron is not bound and attracted to a single nucleus, it can move between an area of 2 nuclei for example. hence the term 'delocalized' meaning not local.

[Tae Pasawat 2A]

A Resonance hybrid energy is lower than the Lewis resonance structures right? It is more stable but it is delocalized making it lower in energy? I had someone tell me that hybrids are higher in energy...

Resonance structures have lower energy because they have a lower formal charge overall, making the molecule more stable.

[Katie Lam 2J]

this is a bit of a dumb question but what exactly do we mean when we say something is delocalized? i've seen it in a couple of posts and im a bit confused as to what that exactly means

Tae answered that perfectly! To add on, the reason why you can remove a pair of electrons from an atom and then draw a single line in between that atom and another atom to denote a bond is because the electrons are delocalized.

[Arnav Saud 2C]

Yes, I'm pretty sure that the overall energy of resonance hybrids is lower because they are more stable.

[Joshua Eidam 2A]

Yes I believe stability is the main factor for why hybridization takes place. Without hybridization taking place, I believe the overall energy level would be higher and the likelihood of there being instability increases.

[Gicelle Rubin 1E]

this is a bit of a dumb question but what exactly do we mean when we say something is delocalized? i've seen it in a couple of posts and im a bit confused as to what that exactly means

Hi the term delocalized is used to refer to an electrons activity! so if it is delocalized, it means that it is not stuck in a local position, it is free to move between a larger area. The electron is not bound and attracted to a single nucleus, it can move between an area of 2 nuclei for example. hence the term 'delocalized' meaning not local.

Thank you for answering! I was wondering the same thing myself.

[Gigi Elizarraras 2C]

this is a bit of a dumb question but what exactly do we mean when we say something is delocalized? i've seen it in a couple of posts and im a bit confused as to what that exactly means

When we are talking about delocalization, we are talking about the electrons being free to roam and not stuck on just a specific molecule. So the electron can transfer easily:)

[Hannah Lechtzin 1K]

this is a bit of a dumb question but what exactly do we mean when we say something is delocalized? i've seen it in a couple of posts and im a bit confused as to what that exactly means

As mentioned above, delocalized electrons are shared freely between the bonded atoms in a molecule. They are not bound to one small area, but instead move freely about a larger area. This is why experimentally determined bond lengths in atoms with both single and double bonds tend to be a length in between the experimentally determined length of a single or double bond.