Coordination Numbers

[almaortega]

When finding coordination compound, does charge matter? I'm working on question 2 on the achieve and I am only looking at the number of atoms attached to the central atom, but I still cannot get that part of the question right.

[Nika Kononov 3E]

Charge does not matter. For question 2 you just need to look at how many ligands bind to the transition metal to classify its coordination number.

Also don't forget that the coordination number only counts what's binded to the metal, aka only the atoms inside the coordination sphere (the atoms inside the brackets).

[Dana Sorensen 1C]

Charge shouldn't matter as coordination number uses the number of atoms attached to the central atom. However, some atoms/molecules might not be monodentate and so could attach in multiple places. Under the common ligands sheet on the class website whether the ligands are monodentate or some kind of polydentate is listed. Hope this helps! :)

[HaleyC 2F]

To find the coordination number you have to count how many ligands that are bound directly to the transition metal.

[Emily Ngo 1E]

Hi Alma,
When you are finding the coordination number for a coordination compound, the charge does not matter. You just simply look at the number of ligands bonded to the central metal cation. For example, in [HgI3]-, the coordination number would be 3 because there are 3 atoms around the central Hg. I hope this helped clarify up some things.

[Joshua Lee 3C]

No, the charge does not matter. Coordination numbers simply refer to the number of atoms, molecules, or ions that are bonded to a central atom in a coordination compound. The presence of an overall charge would not change how many of these are bonded to the central atom and thus it would have no effect.