Radicals

[Cecilia Cisneros 1F]

How do we know which atom the single electron would be placed when drawing the lewis structure of a radical?

[gabbi_r2C]

Typically it’ll be on the atom where it completes the octet. Atoms that commonly have radicals are N and C.

[EmilyC_3D]

I was wondering the same thing. One UA told me that we should decide where to put the electron based on formal charge. We want to reduce total charges so we should base our decision on where to put the lone pair by looking at which atom would need one less electron to have a lower charge.

[Brianna Chen 3F]

When I attended a UA session, he told me that you put the extra electron on the LEAST electronegative atom. However, it makes more sense to place it on the atom that reduces formal charge so it can become as close to zero as possible.