Home > Organic Chemistry > Formal Charge

What is the formal charge on the #Br# and #O# atoms in the #BrO_3^-# ion?

Answer 1

#2xx# #Br=O# bonds, and #1# #xx# #Br-O^-# bond. One #O# atom bears a negative charge, and the remaining atoms are neutral.

The conventional Lewis structure of bromate ion is #(O=)_2Br-O^-#. Around the doubly bound oxygens there are 6 electrons (hence #O# is neutral); around bromine there are 7 electrons (4 from the doubly bound oxygens, 1 from the singly bound oxygen and 2 from the lone pair); and around the charged oxygen, there are (necessarily) 7 electrons (one from the #Br-O# bond and 6 lone pair electrons), so this centre (formally) has a negative charge.

It should be noted that an atom's formal charge is determined by the number of electrons surrounding it; lone pairs only devolve to the atom in question, whereas single bonds share electrons among the bound atoms.

Naturally, each oxygen atom is equal in the actual molecule.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer 2

Delilah Anderson

The formal charge on the Br atom is +1, and on the O atoms is -1.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.