Resonance [ENDORSED]

[Milind_Vasudev_2H]

Im confused about resonance. What does it mean when it says that some lewis structures have multiple bonds in different equivalent locations?

[Sandra Maesta 1C]

Hey!
So resonance is as if the double bond kept switching from one pair of atoms to another. This constant "switching" is created by the fact that the electron are not stuck between only one pair of the molecules atoms, but rather changes between other pairs as well.
"Different equivalent" would, then, mean bonds of the same type (for instance, covalent bond, in which one electron is shared) that occupy different relative positions in the molecule. Does that make sense?

[Maddy_Larson_2J]

I am also confused on resonance. Does resonance in one species continue when it is bonded to another species? For example, Say NO3 were to bond with another molecule. Would the nitrogen prefer a bond to a specific oxygen when other molecules come into play, or would that not matter and any Lewis structure would still be fine?

[Janice Kim 3I]

Resonance is when there are delocalized electrons within a molecule. This means that the bonding of the atoms within the molecule cannot be expressed with exactly one Lewis structure. For example, in NO3-, N has one double bond with one O in structural format. In actuality, the delocalized electrons are moving around and the double bond can be in any equivalent location. This is why we draw NO3-, or any molecule with delocalized electrons, in resonance form. The lewis structure limits the true form of the molecule so we must draw multiple structures.

[Adriana Muro 1A]

I am also confused on resonance, are we going to be specifically told to draw resonance or are we just supposed to know when certain chemicals are prone to resonance?

[Jenny2G]

When you do a Lewis structure there are different possible bonding pairs like in the NO3- shown on page 5 on chapter 3 in the course reader. Those are resonances.