formal charge [ENDORSED]

[Rachel Martinez 1A]

Hello Is formal charge only for when electrons are forming covalent bonds or can it be for ionic or formal charge applies to everything?

[Shannon Clark 1F]

Formal charge is for all bonds! Formal charges for ions should add up to equal the final charge of the ion, whereas normally the formal charges should add up to zero.

[Marie Khijniak 2E]

Hi!
Formal charge is for all types of bonds. If the bond is ionic, the formal charges of each separate atom will add up to the overall charge of the molecule. If the bonds are covalent, and there is no charge on the molecule, they will add up to zero.
Hope this helps!

[Miranda Hess 3I]

Yes, it applies to all different bonds because it is just a description of one characteristic of atoms. The "description" varies based on the bond, however.

[Isela Tamayo 3H]

It should apply to ALL bonds.

[Darlene Luu 1H]

Formal charge applies to all bonds in a molecule which also helps determine the best lewis dot structure!

[Martha Avila 1I]

Hello! Formal charges apply to all elements within a molecule. After drawing a lewis structure you have to calculate the formal charge of each element and then you add all the charges together for the total charge. If your formal charges do not equal to the total charge you know you have a mistake. If you have no formal charges then your overall charge should be 0. Hope this helps.

[505706331]

formal charge is for all elements in a molecule. usually it is best to have a formal charge of zero on all atoms in a molecule and if the molecule has a charge then the formal charge should match up to that charge

[Jordyn Lee 1J]

Hi, formal charge is for all bonds. It shows the gain or loss of electrons when forming bonds, and in a covalent bond it should add up to 0. For ions, it should add up to the ionic charge.

[Sally_Luo_3F]

formal charges can be applied to all bonds. It is best for the molecule to have a formal charge of zero or have the fewest number of formal charges.

[Luke Schwuchow 14A]

Hello! It's a good tip to know that formal charges affect all electrons! No matter what the bond is, all electrons effect charges, therefore the overall charge would also be effected.

[Nishan Reddy 3K]

Formal charges can be for all bonds where we most commonly use them in covalent bonds to determine whether a specific lewis diagram is most stable whereas with ionic bonds, the formal charge is simply equal to the respective charge on the ion.

[Ana Luiza S]

I tend to think of formal charge as a measure of how many bonds/electrons an atom needs vs how many it actually has. So oxygen for example needs 2 bonds to be "happy" (aka stable), but if it's in a molecule where it only has one bond, its formal charge must be -1 because it has one less bond than it needs to be stable. Nitrogen needs 3 bonds, but if it's in a molecule where it has 4 bonds, its formal charge in that molecule must be +1 since it has one more bond than it needs to be stable. When I started thinking of formal charge this way I started calculating it muuuch faster! Hope this helps!

[Ivy Vo Dis 1C]

Formal charges apply to all types of bonds. It can be calculated using the equation: Total number of valence electrons - total number of lone electrons - (total number of bonded electrons/2). We can use formal charge to determine which Lewis structure is the most stable. The Lewis structure with formal charges closest to zero will be the most stable.

[205686400]

Hi there! The formal charge is not limited to any type of bond, as its function is to find the charge of an atom/ion at any given point in time of the molecule in the Lewis structure. So no matter what type of bond is formed there will always be a formal charge of -, 0, or +.

[Windell Viste 1K]

Like everyone has said, formal charge applies to all bonds and should add up to the overall charge of the molecule.

[Michael 1G]

Formal charge can be applied to all types of bonds and molecules. The sum of each atom's individual formal charge determines the overall charge of a molecule. The most stable molecules have a formal charge closest to zero.

[Cynthia_L_2C]

Formal charges are applied to all types of bonds! This helps you determine the stability of the structures.

[Daniel Tabibian 3K]

Formal charges are used in every kind of bond and the individual formal charges should add up to the total charge of the compound.

[Edriana J Altea 2G]

I agree with everyone, formal charge should be applied to all molecules because it shows how stable it is.