Chemistry / Unit 6 Chem 1013 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Single Fixed-Bond Misreading of Resonance
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The idea
Treating one resonance structure as the molecule's actual, fixed bonding arrangement misreads what resonance describes.
In practice
Reading ozone as truly having one fixed single bond and one fixed double bond predicts two different bond lengths, contradicted by the identical measured lengths.
Where people slip
A molecule's real structure is the resonance blend itself, not a molecule rapidly flipping between the drawn contributing structures.
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