-OH vs OH-

[Anya Holbrook 1E]

This doesn't really have anything to do with calculating pH, but why is it that sometimes in Dr. Lavelle's notes he put -OH instead of OH-? Don't charges on a molecule or ion go after the naming?

[Evie Li_1H]

I don't think it's that big of a deal whichever side you decide to put the charge on but, traditionally, the charge will come after the ion.

[IshanModiDis2L]

I believe the charge usually will come after the ion but I do not think it rly does matter too much. Only time I would really consider it is when drawing a structure.

[JaylinWangDis1L]

I was also a little confused on this at first but I think the placement of the negative sign doesn't really matter. It's usually written after the ion.

[Cooper_Geralds_3B]

Hi, I noticed the -OH in today's lecture as well and am used to seeing OH- in both his lectures and the homework, but I am pretty certain that they are the same!

[Ryan_Page_1J]

I have noticed that he uses them interchangeably as well.

[505352202]

It does not really matter. When he puts the - before like -OH, he is trying to emphasize that the oxygen is the atom with the negative charge and not the hydrogen.

I hope this helps!

[apurva-3E]

I don't think it matters.

[Brian Bui 3H]

Does not matter, but I think that he puts the negative charge on the O because that O has a formal charge of -1, which is typically indicated with just a negative sign.

[SamayaJoshi1A]

-OH and OH- are the same thing!

[Isabel_Eslabon_2G]

It's the same thing. In general, is how you'd normally write it when writing a chemical equation. is used more when writing diagrams or mechanisms to emphasize that the negative charge is from the oxygen, not the hydrogen.

[DPatel_2L]

They are the same thing!

[Linette Choi 3L]

I believe (OH-) is used more often but I think they mean the same thing.

[Katelynn Shaheen 2C]

It doesn't matter, -OH and OH- are the same thing in his lectures.

[August Blum Dis 3D]

Sometimes the notation is different for OH-, but either way, the molecule is the same. It shouldn't really matter how it is written. However, some put the charge next to the oxygen to demonstrate that it is the oxygen with the negative charge.

[Sarah Lesmeister 2F]

I think it usually goes on the right but it means the same thing

[Anton Truskovsky 2K]

They mean the same thing. Use usually would use -OH in like a diagram to signify that it's definitely the oxygen that carries a negative charge.

[trevina_brown_2A]

OH- is used more often but it is basically the same thing.

[Alessandra Marotta 3L]

I think it is most commonly written as OH-, but both -OH and OH- mean the same thing!

[Grant_2A]

as everyone is saying, it is the same thing, but I would recommend writing it as OH-. Hope this helps!

[SuryaDham 3E]

I dont think it matters, the sign placement can be on either side.

[N Kanuri 2E]

As previous comments have said, I don't believe it matters. I think it is conventionally written as OH-, so that is what I use.

[Emily2J]

hello, I was a little confused on this at first but I think the placement of the negative sign doesn't really matter.

[Kristen Bansil 1G]

Hey there! I believe they are both the same but I usually keep the negative sign next to the O to remind me of its electronegativity, hope this helped!

[Alex Luong 3H]

They're the same.

[Vivek Chotai 2C]

OH- might be referring to the charge, but -OH might be representing the covalent bond between O and the other atom.

[Acharya Ranawat 3E]

I believe that these represent the same thing. The only difference may be that the -OH represents the bond between atoms, and the OH- may just represent the charge of it. Hope this helps!

[Reece Fong 2k]

Usually it just shows that the negative end of the dipole is by the O. Also though, OH is a connecting group sometimes and can be denoted as -OH (- being the side connecting).

[Alex Luong 3H]

It shows which part of the molecule is slightly negative, which helps some see which part of the OH- molecule is binding to the entire molecule.

[Srikar_Chintala_1E]

I don't think it holds much of a difference. It is probably just personal preference.

[daniellediem1k]

I don't think it matters either way, but I usually see it at the end.

[Katherine Li 1A]

The hydroxyl ion is written as OH-. -OH refers to the hydroxyl group, where -OH is attached to some other molecule. The dash is only a minus sign in the first example.

[Jiayin Yola Yan 1G]

They are essentially the same thing!

[Talia Tam 3L]

I think they're the same thing.

[Maggie Clark]

No difference!

[Carla Bruebach 1C]

They both are the same things but normally the charge comes after the ion.

[Claire Kim 1F]

This doesn't really have anything to do with calculating pH, but why is it that sometimes in Dr. Lavelle's notes he put -OH instead of OH-? Don't charges on a molecule or ion go after the naming?

I think it's usually presented as OH- but both should mean the same thing.