21 Chemistry -- Chemical Bonding and Shapes of Molecules

What is resonance? Are the resonance structures be the actual structure of molecules? Draw resonance structure of ozone (O) and Sulphur trioxide (SO).

What is resonance? Are the resonance structures be the actual structure of molecules? Draw resonance structure of ozone (O) and Sulphur trioxide (SO).

Resonance is a way of describing delocalized electrons within certain molecules or polyatomic ions where the bonding cannot be expressed by a single Lewis formula. A molecule or ion with such delocalized electrons is represented by several resonance structures.

When it is possible to write more than one equivalent resonance structure for a molecule or ion, the actual structure is the average of the resonance structures. But resonance structures represent different ways of placing electrons on the atoms in a molecule's Lewis dot structure. They do not describe different molecules and all resonance structures have the same connectivity. If you change the connectivity, you change the molecule, and that is not a resonance structure.

Resonance Structure of Molecules 

Ozone(O)


Sulphur Trioxide(SO)

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