Chemistry / Unit 6 Chem 1000 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Formal Charge, Defined
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The idea
A formal charge is the charge an atom would carry in a Lewis structure if every bonding pair were divided equally between its atoms.
In practice
Nitrogen forming four bonds with no lone pair carries a formal charge of +1 in that structure.
Where people slip
Formal charge is a bookkeeping device for one drawn structure, not the atom's real, measured charge.
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