Formal Charge

[Will Harvey 1B]

How does formal charge ultimately affect the bonds an atom can make or the intermolecular forces it can generate?

[Tara Cumiskey 3K]

Hi! Formal charge indicates stability. A stable molecule will have the formal charge for each atom be zero or as close to zero as possible. A molecules desire to be stable will influence the type of bonds it makes and therefore the shape of the molecule. The shape of the molecule and atoms in the molecule then will influence the intermolecular forces. Hope that helps!

[Katryn Heine 3A]

Formal charge is basically a tool to help indicate which structure will be the most stable. The less nonzero charges that exist normally indicate more stability. When determining IMF strength it's better to look at the shape of the structure.

[azurexrose]

Like the replies above me have stated, they really don't have any effects on the IMF in the atom. They are just used to determine the stability. For example, even though the presence of fluorine in a molecule may indicate that hydrogen bonding and dipole-dipole interactions happen, fluorine will pretty much never have a formal charge of anything other than 0.

[Rachel Bartley 2B]

Formal charge doesn't influence intermolecular forces, but it is considered when understanding the structure of molecules because it indicates stability. Stable molecules are those with a nonzero (or as close to zero) formal charge on each molecule or those that spread out evenly the little charges that are on certain atoms. With this, molecules will shape themselves in the arrangement in which they are the most stable. This arrangement/shape of the molecule will then influence intermolecular forces.

[madeleinewright]

Formal charge doesn't really affect intermolecular forces, but it shows the stability in the structure of a molecule. A molecule with a structure with the least formal charges will be more stable than a molecule with a structure with more formal charges, and is therefore preferable.

[Amaris Cagungun 1F]

Formal charge helps you find out which structure is overall most stable. S stable molecule will have a formal charge equal to 0 or will be as close to 0 as possible.

[Ashrita Singh 2F]

A lower formal charge indicates that the arrangement of a molecule is more stable, and it doesn't influence IMFs.

[Brooklyn Burgess 3L]

Formal charge of an atom indicates gain or loss of e- while forming covalent bond.

[elletruchan2I]

Hi! Formal charge indicates stability. A stable molecule will have the formal charge for each atom be zero or as close to zero as possible. A molecules desire to be stable will influence the type of bonds it makes and therefore the shape of the molecule. The shape of the molecule and atoms in the molecule then will influence the intermolecular forces. Hope that helps!

This was such a well thought out answer and helped me understand the concept so much more!

[cnyland]

Formal charge indicates how stable a structure is. You want it to be lower in general, and if it is negative, then it should be on an electronegative atom.

[Ashley Fakolujo 3H]

I heard having a formal charge of 0 on your lewis structure indicates that it’s the correct one and therefore more stable. I personally use it to check my work in a sense

[erud]

Formal charge is extremely important because it indicates the molecules stability, it can change whether the molecule will favor sing or double bonds, and will indicate the total amount of valence electrons used in the structure.