Why is the Lewis structure of ozone important?

Answer 1

Why? Because it's a simple predictor of molecular shape.

The ozone molecule is #O_3#, and each #O# centre contributes 6 electrons to the valence shell.

A reasonable Lewis structure would be: #O=O^(+)-O^(-)#. Because, around the central oxygen, there are 5 electrons (2 from the double bond, 1 from the single bond, and 2 from the lone pair), we assign this centre a positive charge, and of course we can assign each terminal oxygen a negative charge alternately by resonance.

Given the Lewis structure we predict by #VSEPR# a bent molecule with #/_O-O-O# #<=# #120""^@#. What do we find experimentally? A bent molecule with intermediate #O-O# bonds; #/_O-O-O# #=# #116.8""^@#.

Thus, by simply knowing how to draw a Lewis structure, counting the electrons, and using #VSEPR#, we have predicted the structure of a gaseous molecule, which we can't see, but we can smell. I think that is pretty clever given the (short!) time we spent on the problem.

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Answer 2

Nolan Allen

The Lewis structure of ozone is important because it illustrates the arrangement of atoms and bonding in the molecule, helping to understand its chemical properties and reactivity.

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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.