Bond Enthalpies

[madisondesilva1c]

When figuring out what bonds to break to then reform, is it necessary to draw out the lewis structures? Are we expected to remember and draw out lewis structures in the way that we did in 14A?

[005115864]

It's not necessary, but it is certainly helpful to apply what you already know how to do. For instance, I like to draw them out because I like to see what is similar and what is different and compare the molecules I'm looking at. That way, I don't have to count every single bond in the reaction, just what is different and subtract that and it saves me time. It's also good to visually see what's going on, but it is all about preference.

[chaggard]

No it is not necessary, it is completely personal preference. The questions involving bond enthalpies will most likely not be complicated molecules, so the lewis structures will be relatively easy to get.

[varunhariharan]

Drawing the Lewis structures of larger molecules can make the calculation much easier in the long run, so I think getting into the habit of drawing them out to get a better visualization of the bond enthalpies makes sense.