Formal Charge Equation

[Kayla Booker 1F]

When using the formal charge equation, what does L represent, and how do I find it’s value?

[Margaret Wang 2D]

L is the number of electrons in lone pairs (aka not bonded with another atom). It should be represented by dots so you just need to count the dots around the Lewis structure

[Becca Nelson 3F]

L represents lone pairs. It is the number of dots surrounding an atom. Count each dot around the atom as 1 for L.

[Mary Gallo 1G]

Adding on to above, when using the formal charge equation, make sure you are only applying it to one atom in the structure. So in terms of L (or the lone pairs) just count the dots around one specific atom because you are only calculating the formal charge for one atom at a time.

[Cecilia Cisneros 1F]

The L represents the number of lone pairs and it can be found by the number of electrons on an element that are not shared between another element.

[Ariel Guan 1H]

L refers to the lone pair electrons. To find its value, count the amount of electrons that aren't shared, or count the amount of dots around a specific atom

[Tiao Tan 3C]

L represents the number of lone pairs and you can count the number of dots around each atom from the lewis structure.

[Shrinidhy Srinivas 3L]

L refers to the number of lone pair electrons that an atom has. Make sure to count the electrons and not just the number of pairs. For instance, if oxygen had 3 lone pairs, L would be 6. Hope this helps!

[Eliana Carney 3E]

In the formal charge equation, L represents the number of lone pair electrons on the given bound atom. To find L given a Lewis structure, you just count the number of dots next to the atom. The number of dots is equal to the value L. Hope this helps!

[Karina Grover 1A]

L is the numerical value of lone pairs of electrons that an atom has. To determine this value, all you need to do is count how many "dots" or electrons the atom has! Be careful not to simply write the number of lone PAIRS; rather, make sure to write the number of ELECTRONS (i.e. not 1 lone pair, but 2 electrons).

[Daniela Santana 2L]

The L in the formal charge equation represents the number of lone pair electrons around a specific atom. In order to find its value just count the dots around the specific atom. Also make sure that you only count whats not bonded to another atom. Hope this helps!

[Sophia Kalanski 1A]

L represents the number of lone pairs and they can be counted in the lewis dot diagram

[Ven Chavez 2K]

L in the formal charge equation indicates the number of lone pairs in the atom. This means that electrons are not paired to another atom such as the 3 lone pairs in oxygen. However, the equation counts the electrons in the lone pairs so in the formal charge equation for oxygen L would be 6, not 3.

[Joshua Swift]

L represents the number of lone pairs around an atom. Lone pairs on lewis dot structures just look like two dots which aren't bonded to anything. When calculating formal charge of an atom, you just count how many pairs are located around that atom.

[Gian Boco 2G]

L is the number of unpaired electrons. In other words, count the number of electrons around an atom that is not participating in a bond.

[Hana Sigsbee 3B]

L is the number of unpaired electrons and you should be able to find this by just counting the number of unpaired dots in the Lewis Structure model.

[Susanna Givan 2B]

Hi, could anyone explain how you would determine the lone pair number from an equation and not from a Lewis Dot Structure?