Formal Charges

[Angela_Li_1J]

When two lewis structures have the same amount of formal charges, how can you tell which lewis structure would be more stable? Also, is the formal charge for hydrogen always 0?

[Matthew Vu 3C]

Typically, if you have the same formal charges, you want the formal charges to be on the most electronegative atom. And I'm not completely sure, but I think hydrogen when it bonds will always have a formal charge of 0 since hydrogen only has one valence electron, will only form one single bond, and has no lone pairs.

[Erika Li 1E]

In cases where there must be positive or negative formal charges on atoms, you should check that the most electronegative atom is the one carrying a negative formal charge. This is because the most electronegative atom has the greatest pull on electrons, making it more stable for the most electronegative atom to have a negative formal charge. Likewise, it is more stable for the less electronegative atom to carry a positive formal charge. I think hydrogen typically has a formal charge of 0 since it forms one bond and has no lone pairs.

[Samantha Loc 1B]

If 2 lewis structures have the same amount of formal charges, I believe the most stable would be the one with formal charges closest to 0 (for example if a carbon atom has a formal charge in both structures, the structure containing a carbon atom with a FC = -1 would be favored over one containing a carbon atom with a FC = -2).