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2: Molecular Structure

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    484949
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    • 2.1: Development of Chemical Bonding Theory
      Lewis Dot Symbols are a way of indicating the number of valence electrons in an atom. They are useful for predicting the number and types of covalent bonds within organic molecules. The molecular shape of molecules is predicted by Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) theory. The shapes of common organic molecules are based on tetrahedral, trigonal planar or linear arrangements of electron groups.
    • 2.2: Describing Chemical Bonds - Valence Bond Theory
      Covalent bonds form as valence electrons are shared between two atoms. Lewis Structures and structural formulas are common ways of showing the covalent bonding in organic molecules. Formal charge describes the changes in the number of valence electrons as an atom becomes bonded into a molecule. If the atom has a net loss of valence electrons it will have a positive formal charge. If the atom has a net gain of valence electrons it will have a negative formal charge.
    • 2.3: Drawing Chemical Structures
      Kekulé Formulas or structural formulas display the atoms of the molecule in the order they are bonded. Condensed structural formulas show the order of atoms like a structural formula but are written in a single line to save space. Skeleton formulas or Shorthand formulas or line-angle formulas are used to write carbon and hydrogen atoms more efficiently by replacing the letters with lines. Isomers have the same molecular formula, but different structural formulas
    • 2.4: sp³ Hybrid Orbitals and the Structure of Methane
      The four identical C-H single bonds in methane form as the result of sigma bond overlap between the sp3 hybrid orbitals of carbon and the s orbital of each hydrogen.
    • 2.5: sp³ Hybrid Orbitals and the Structure of Ethane
      The C-C bond in ethane forms as the result of sigma bond overlap between a sp³ hybrid orbital on each carbon. and the s orbital of each hydrogen. The six identical C-H single bonds in form as the result of sigma bond overlap between the sp³ hybrid orbitals of carbon and the s orbital of each hydrogen.
    • 2.6: sp² Hybrid Orbitals and the Structure of Ethylene
      The C=C bond in ethylene forms as the result of both a sigma bond overlap between a sp2 hybrid orbital on each carbon and a pi bond overlap of a p orbital on each carbon
    • 2.7: sp Hybrid Orbitals and the Structure of Acetylene
      The carbon-carbon triple bond in acetylene forms as the result of one sigma bond overlap between a sp hybrid orbital on each carbon and two pi bond overlaps of p orbitals on each carbon.
    • 2.8: Formal Charges
      A formal charge is the charge assigned to an atom in a molecule, assuming that electrons in all chemical bonds are shared equally between atoms, regardless of relative electronegativity.
    • 2.9: Resonance
      Resonance structures are a set of two or more Lewis Structures that collectively describe the electronic bonding a single polyatomic species including fractional bonds and fractional charges. Resonance structure are capable of describing delocalized electrons that cannot be expressed by a single Lewis formula with an integer number of covalent bonds.
    • 2.10: Rules for Resonance Forms
      The above resonance structures show that the electrons are delocalized within the molecule and through this process the molecule gains extra stability. Ozone with both of its opposite formal charges creates a neutral molecule and through resonance it is a stable molecule. The extra electron that created the negative charge on one terminal oxygen can be delocalized by resonance through the other terminal oxygen.
    • 2.11: Drawing Resonance Forms
      Resonance structures are used when one Lewis structure for a single molecule cannot fully describe the bonding that takes place between neighboring atoms relative to the empirical data for the actual bond lengths between those atoms. The net sum of valid resonance structures is defined as a resonance hybrid, which represents the overall delocalization of electrons within the molecule. A molecule that has several resonance structures is more stable than one with fewer.


    2: Molecular Structure is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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