Formal Charge

[Aedra Li 3H]

Is there a more organized way to write the formal charge? It sometimes gets messy and confusing when I have all these numbers around my Lewis Structure.

[Tai Metzger 3K]

You can always write them to the side as long as long as you specify which formal charge goes with each atom.

[SVajragiri_1C]

You can underline the formal charges or something to distinguish them from the atom and the electron dots.

[305421980]

I always do the calculations on the side just to show my work then write the final numbers small in a small box or underlined by the atoms.

[simmoneokamoto3K]

I tend to do it on a separate piece of paper and by the end of it, I box the entire lewis structure and write the overall formal charge in the upper right corner of said box.

[Megan_1F]

I would recommend writing it small right next to each atom so you can make sure you know which formal charge is assigned to which atom.

[Michelle Chan 1J]

A side question: is there a way to tell just by looking because some people derive it really quickly in their head. Just wondering.

[madijohnson_4A]

I'm not sure how people do formal charge so quickly in their heads, I always need to write it out personally, but the ones I've memorized are:
double bonded oxygen with 2 lone pairs has a formal charge of 0
single bonded oxygen with 3 long pairs has a formal charge of -1
I hope this helps a little!

[Amanda Lin 2I]

Oxygen with two bonds has a formal charge of 0.
Nitrogen with three bonds has a formal charge of 0.
Carbon with four bonds has a formal charge of 0.

[Merin Padayatty 3G]

I write the calculations on the side and write the final answer next to each atom.