Structure plausibility

[AliAsh 1H]

As I was going through the HW, I was constantly confused as to how we determine exactly which structure of a molecule is most plausible. Is it just the one with the least number of formal charges on it?

[Arti_Patel_3H]

I went by that parameter - the structure with the least number of formal charges - and I got the answers right on Sapling.

[Susan Chamling 1F]

I had difficulty determining the plausibility of the structure as well, but I mainly looked at how the charges were dispersed throughout the structure (evenly or not), and if an electronegative atom was holding the charge (I believe my TA mentioned that the more electronegative the atom, the better it holds the charge)

[Hasan Mirza 3F]

The most stable structure will be the one with the least formal charges, but the location of those charges is also important. It is more stable for the negative formal charges to be on the more electronegative atoms and positive formal charges on the less electronegative atoms. Sapling #5 is a good example related to this concept.

[Sara_Lim_2C]

Yeah,I believe in general it's the structure that has the lowest total charge, but if you have structures with the same total charge, it's the one that has the least atoms with non-zero formal charges. It also has to do with electronegativity, as someone above already explained :D

[IshanModiDis2L]

When determining the most stable structure, we must consider the individual charges of each element and choose the one with the least formal charges with the most electronegative element having the most negative formal charge and the less electronegative atoms to have positive formal charges.