Resonance

[Karina Rodriguez 2H]

Can someone explain the concept of resonance as well as how to find resonance structures?

[Brittney Nguyen 2L]

Hi!

The best way to visualize resonance is probably through Lewis structures. Take NO_3-, for example. The one double bond between the N and the O can occur between the N and any O. When a double or triple bond can occur indiscriminately between multiple sets of the same 2 atoms in a molecule, the molecule has resonance. You can find resonance structures by moving the double bond around to different parts of the molecule, as long as the double bond still links the same 2 elements.

It's important to note that double and triple bonds don't actually jump around in resonance structures; the extra electrons in the double and triple bonds are delocalized, meaning that they're shared amongst all of the atoms. It's just difficult to depict this sharing on a drawing.

[Jade_Tai_2L]

Resonance occurs when a molecules cannot be expressed by a single lewis structure. You will know if a molecule has resonance structures if it has a lone pair or a double bond on the atom next to a double bond.

[Jasraj Parmar 3H]

Resonance is when more than one correct lewis structure can be drawn for a molecule. This can happen by rearranging single, double and triple atoms among atoms. It is possible to make one lewis structure representing all of the possible lewis structures by drawing a resonance hybrid. A resonance hybrid uses all possible arrangement of the bonds to make a lewis structure representing all of the possible lewis structures.

[Kathy_Li_1H]

Resonance is essentially the "average" or hybrid of all the different structures of the same compound, oftentimes involving the different placements of a double or triple bond.

[Liam Bertrand 3]

To add on to everyone else, the easiest way to visualize the resonance structures is to draw the lewis structure. Then, consider where 2 electrons (usually a lone pair or double bond) can be moved to still contribute to a correct structure. Formal charge can then be used to decide which resonance structure is most likely

[ellenulitsky Dis 1I]

How I like to think about it is if it is an odd number of bonds attached to the central atom (ex. 3) and the central atom can have a full octet, then usually it has resonance. Resonance in terms of the bond strength is the average of the different identical ways of making the lewis structure. Hope this helps!

[MichaelMendozaD1F]

Can someone explain the concept of resonance as well as how to find resonance structures?

resonance and resonance structures are alternative modelings of compounds which may have different charges. Structures can also be labelled as having lower energy (more favorable) and higher energy (less favorable). Resonance structures that are balanced or in other words, have their charges cancelled out, are the most "favorable" of the possible resonance structures.

[Edwin Liang 1I]

Resonance is where a molecule's Lewis structure could be expressed in multiple ways. This is due to interchanging double bonds or triple bonds.

[Kyla Roche 2K]

It is also helpful to know that a molecule is more stable if it has resonance due to the delocalization of electrons. If an anion is more stable, then the acidic reaction is more likely to occur. We can tell if an anion is more stable by looking to see if it has resonance or electronegativities.