How do I tell which species are radicals?

[Tala Ayoub 1H]

Textbook question 2C.1 Which of the following species are radicals?
How can I identify a radical is it any species with an odd number of electrons. Why is OH not considered a radical in this case while NO2- is?

[Alice Weber 3I]

Hi! So I think there was a typo in the textbook. I'm pretty sure OH should be considered a radical because it has 7 valence electrons and NO2- should not be considered a radical because it has 18 valence electrons.

[austinchun]

Hello! A radicals are basically an atom, molecule, or ion that had at least one unpaired valence electron. An easy way to identify them is when you count the total number of valence electrons and the number is odd, the resulting molecule will be a radical.

[Isabelle Rieke-Wey 2G]

Hi!
you can tell if a species is a radical if there is an odd number of valence electrons, as this means there is an unpaired valence electron.

[Michelle Li 2B]

A radical is a species that has an unpaired electrons, which means that the total number of electrons will be an odd number. OH would be a radical since it has 7 electrons total, and therefore O would have one unpaired electron. NO2- would not be a radical since it would have 18 total electrons, which is an even number, so there will be no unpaired electrons.

[Jessica Cornelia Hongarta 1G]

Hi! So, radicals are atoms, molecules or ions that have unpaired valence electrons. OH is not a radical since it has an odd number of valence electron (7 valence electrons) which means that there is an unpaired valence electron, so it is a radical. Meanwhile, NO2- is not a radical since it does not have any unpaired valence electrons.

[Dillon Taing 3H]

The easiest way to see if the molecule or ion is a radical is to count the number of valence electrons, and if it's an even number then it's a radical. OH- has 7 electrons (odd number) so it is a radical, while NO2- has 18 electrons (even number), so it is not a radical.

[Evan L 2B]

Radicals are molecules with an odd number of electrons. It's important to know that because of the unpaired electron, radicals are extremely reactive. Also, the book explains the existence of biradicals which might be important to know as well.
Hope this helps!

[Sevde Coban 2J]

If a molecule has an odd number of valence electrons, then it is a radical because by definition, a radical is an atom, ion, or molecule with at least one electron that isn’t paired.

[Mahika Saoji 3K]

Hi! Essentially, a radical is when a molecule has an odd number of valence electrons. When you are drawing your lewis structure, you will have one unpaired electron! A common example of a radical is CH3. There are 7 valence electrons, so when you are drawing your lewis structure you will have one unpaired electron on the carbon. Hope that helps!

[Madison Yee 2B]

You can tell which compounds are radicals by calculating the number of valence electrons each atom in the compound has, then summing them. If the sum is an odd number, then the species is a radical.

[Josephine B 3L]

Radicals have odd numbers of electrons, meaning that one isn't going to be paired when you draw the lewis structure and will just be one dot not two.

[Mahima Manoj 1F]

Usually, if there are an odd amount of electrons in the valence shell it means its a radical.

[Renga Rengappa 1D]

If the number of valence electrons present in a molecule is odd, or it doesn't have a normal octet, then it is a radical.

[Hailey Jeon]

Radicals are molecules with an electron that is not contributing to form a bond or paired with another electron. OH should be a radical since 1 of the 6 electrons of O and 1 electron from H are paired, so there are 5 electrons left, meaning that one is not going to be paired. However, if it is OH-, it would not be a radical because there would be an extra electron to the molecule that can pair with the unpaired electron. [NO2]- is not a radical because all the electrons are paired.

[905715668]

Hi! Radicals are basically atoms/molecules with an unpaired valence electron.

[Clarence Clavite 2K]

Hello, you can tell if a species is a radical if it has an uneven number of electrons. Otherwise, if there is an electron not contributing to a bond, it is also a radical. Hope this helps!

[Ryan Khiev 1L]

You would be correct, a radical is any species that has an odd number of valence electrons. Since NO2- has an even number of electrons and OH has an odd number, then NO2- isn't a radical while OH is. I asked this question earlier and it seems like the consensus is that the textbook is incorrect.

[Trisha Nagin]

If there is an odd number of valence electrons that means there is one unpaired electron which means there is a radical.

[Ivan_Tang_2G]

Radicals are usually defined as odd or uneven amounts of electrons.

[Ivan_Tang_2G]

Radicals are usually defined as odd or uneven amounts of electrons.

[Hannah Carsey 1B]

A free radical can be defined as an atom or molecule containing one or more unpaired electrons in valence shell or outer orbit and is capable of independent existence. The odd number of electron(s) of a free radical makes it unstable, short-lived, and highly reactive. A radical is a molecule that contains at least one unpaired electron. Most molecules contain even numbers of electrons, and the covalent chemical bonds holding the atoms together within a molecule normally consist of pairs of electrons jointly shared by the atoms linked by the bond.

[Jordyn Lee 1J]

Hi, you can identify a radical if it has an unpaired valence electron, so it should have an odd number of electrons. Radicals are unstable and reactive.

[Ashrita Singh 2F]

A radical is an unpaired valence electron, so species with an odd number of valence electrons typically have radicals.

[Julia Todorov 2F]

a radical is when an atom has an unpaired, or odd number, of electrons!

[Jelix Tsan 2H]

A radical is any atom that has an unpaired electron. The textbook must have had a typo, I remember having the same confusion when I got to that problem as well!

[Jeremiah Leonor 1J]

If the resulting number of valence electrons is odd, you can assume it's going to be a radical.

[Madelyn_Rios_2c]

Radicals are molecules with an odd number of valence electrons due to having an unpaired electron.

[tashyavakil 2K]

if there is an odd number of valence electrons, you have a radical because with an odd number u will have one electron short of an additional lone pair.

[Coraly De Leon]

Hello,
Radicals is a term used to describe molecules with an odd number of valence electrons.

[305723807]

the valence electrons are going to be odd

[305723807]

the valence electrons are going to be odd

[Uma Patil 2A]

The number of valence electrons will be odd, which means that there will be an unpaired electron.

[Arpita Padhy 3E]

The easiest way to do this is by counting the amount of valence electrons there are in the atom, and if it is an odd number, it would be considered a radical which are very reactive.

[Claudia Longo 2J]

Textbook question 2C.1 Which of the following species are radicals?
How can I identify a radical is it any species with an odd number of electrons. Why is OH not considered a radical in this case while NO2- is

Most radicals will have an uneven total valence electron number. OH is not considered a radical because the hydroxide ion is just that- an ion, with a -1 charge. So OH- is how it should really be written, and now the lewis structure will have a complete octet.

[Madelyn_Rios_2c]

Radicals have an odd number of valence electrons due to one unpaired electron.

[Luke Schwuchow 14A]

I hope this able to clear this up! A radical is an atom, molecule, or compound with at least 1 unpaired electron.

[Leah Wildmann 1F]

A radical has an unpaired electron

[Robert Nguyen 14B-3E]

Be careful: many of these answers say that a molecule with an odd number of valence electrons is guaranteed to be a radical, which is true because it is guaranteed to have one unpaired electron, but that does not mean that an even number of electrons guarantees it is not a radical. Take O²⁺ for example. It has am even number of electrons, but in fact has 2 radicals, as two electrons are unpaired. So, while an odd number of valence electrons is a good quick check, be sure to know the main concept is that there are electrons that are unpaired, meaning you cannot assume an even number of electrons cannot have radicals.

[JafarriNocentelli 1G]

radicals are just species with at least an unpaired valence electron

[205686400]

Hi! So basically a radical, in essence, is a atom that has an unpaired electrons. For example, if it had a lone pair, the lone pair would only have one electron. Another easy way of finding these is by looking at the number of electrons an atom has. If it is even it is normal, but if it is odd it is a radical.