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Formal charges in ozone and the nitrate anion. In chemistry, a formal charge (F.C. or q*), in the covalent view of chemical bonding, is the hypothetical charge assigned to an atom in a molecule, assuming that electrons in all chemical bonds are shared equally between atoms, regardless of relative electronegativity.
In atomic physics, a partial charge (or net atomic charge) is a non-integer charge value when measured in elementary charge units. It is represented by the Greek lowercase delta (𝛿), namely 𝛿− or 𝛿+. Partial charges are created due to the asymmetric distribution of electrons in chemical bonds.
If the atom is missing a pair of electrons or has a proton, it will have a positive charge. If the atom has electrons that are not bonded to another atom, there will be a negative charge. In structural formulas, the positive charge is indicated by ⊕ , and the negative charge is indicated by ⊖ . [4]
Atomic numbers (Z) are a special case of charge numbers, referring to the charge number of an atomic nucleus, as opposed to the net charge of an atom or ion. The charge numbers for ions (and also subatomic particles ) are written in superscript, e.g., Na + is a sodium ion with charge number positive one (an electric charge of one elementary ...
For example, FeSO 4 is named iron(2+) sulfate (with the 2+ charge on the Fe 2+ ions balancing the 2− charge on the sulfate ion), whereas Fe 2 (SO 4) 3 is named iron(3+) sulfate (because the two iron ions in each formula unit each have a charge of 3+, to balance the 2− on each of the three sulfate ions). [108]
The Mulliken population assigns an electronic charge to a given atom A, known as the gross atom population: as the sum of over all orbitals belonging to atom A. The charge, , is then defined as the difference between the number of electrons on the isolated free atom, which is the atomic number , and the gross atom population:
The sulfate anion consists of a central sulfur atom surrounded by four equivalent oxygen atoms in a tetrahedral arrangement. The symmetry of the isolated anion is the same as that of methane. The sulfur atom is in the +6 oxidation state while the four oxygen atoms are each in the −2 state.
The formal charge of an atom is computed as the difference between the number of valence electrons that a neutral atom would have and the number of electrons that belong to it in the Lewis structure. Electrons in covalent bonds are split equally between the atoms involved in the bond.