moving an electron

[lasarro]

Does a resonance structure just mean moving an electron around?

[Eesha Chattopadhyay 2K]

A resonance structure is used to demonstrate that there are not fixed positions of electrons and that electrons do move around.

[Mariepahos4D]

A resonance structure is used when the actual bond length in a molecule is between the length of 2 different types of bonds. For example, if the bond length of an atom is between that of a single bond and double bond. Since lewis structures only account for the standardized bond lengths of single, double, or triple, a molecule has resonance when for example a double bond could go at multiple different sites on the atom and still be correct. In this case, the experimentally observed bond length would actually be an average of all the possible bond lengths at that site.

[Justin Quan 4I]

Essentially yes, having multiple resonance structures means that there are several different combination of electrons shared between atoms. These electrons that you are "moving" around can go on to create chemical bonds at different sites in the molecule.

[selatran1h]

Resonance structures involve moving, adding, or subtracting bonds from a structure between the various atoms. This is because multiple forms of the actual structure of the compound exists since electrons are never only in one place and are constantly moving. Thus, resonance structures imply moving electrons between the different atoms since the electrons are always moving.