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What is resonance or mesomerism in organic chemistry?
What is resonance or mesomerism in organic chemistry?
What are resonance structures in a molecule?
What are resonance structures in a molecule?
What is the resonance hybrid?
What is the resonance hybrid?
Why is the energy of the resonance hybrid less than the energy of any contributing resonance structure?
Why is the energy of the resonance hybrid less than the energy of any contributing resonance structure?
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What is delocalization of electrons in resonance?
What is delocalization of electrons in resonance?
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What do curved arrows represent in resonance?
What do curved arrows represent in resonance?
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What is true about the resonance structures in a molecule?
What is true about the resonance structures in a molecule?
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What happens to the positions of atoms in resonance structures?
What happens to the positions of atoms in resonance structures?
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What is the expected behavior of urea based on its initial structure?
What is the expected behavior of urea based on its initial structure?
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What is the reason for the shorter than expected bond length of C-N bond in urea?
What is the reason for the shorter than expected bond length of C-N bond in urea?
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What is the condition for valid resonance structures?
What is the condition for valid resonance structures?
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What is the condition for the atoms in resonance structures?
What is the condition for the atoms in resonance structures?
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What is the reason for the planar arrangement of atoms in resonance structures?
What is the reason for the planar arrangement of atoms in resonance structures?
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What is the term used to describe the molecules that are in dynamic equilibrium with each other?
What is the term used to describe the molecules that are in dynamic equilibrium with each other?
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Why is the nitrogen atom in structure (II) not allowed?
Why is the nitrogen atom in structure (II) not allowed?
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What is the symbol used to link resonance structures?
What is the symbol used to link resonance structures?
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Study Notes
Resonance or Mesomerism in Organic Chemistry
- Sometimes, a molecule or ion cannot be represented by a single structure, and multiple structures must be proposed to explain its properties.
- The representation of a molecule's structure as a weighted average of two or more hypothetical structures is referred to as resonance or mesomerism or delocalization.
Salient Features of Resonance
- Resonance structures or canonical forms or contributing structures have different arrangements of electrons but identical positions for atoms.
- Resonance structures are imaginary, and the actual structure of the molecule is considered a hybrid of all valid resonance structures, known as the resonance hybrid.
- The energy of the resonance hybrid is always less than the energy of any contributing resonance structure.
- Resonance structures are formed due to delocalization of electrons, not by changing atom positions.
- Delocalization of electrons is shown using curved arrows.
- The actual molecule is simply the hybrid of all imaginary resonance structures.
Illustration of Resonance
- The structure of urea (I) is expected to have certain properties, but observed properties differ, such as being a monoacidic base, having a shorter C-N bond length, and showing a dipole moment.
- To account for these observations, the actual structure of urea is represented as a resonance hybrid of multiple resonance structures.
Rules for Writing Valid Resonance Structures
- Resonance structures must satisfy the following rules:
- They must be valid Lewis structures obeying the octet rule.
- They should possess the same number of electrons and equal net charge.
- The number of unpaired electrons in them must be the same.
- The positions of atoms should be the same in all resonance structures.
- The bond order of two connecting atoms may vary between two different resonance structures.
- Resonance structures may or may not be equivalent.
- Atoms that are part of the delocalized system must be arranged in one plane or nearly so.
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Description
Learn about resonance or mesomerism in organic chemistry, where multiple structures are proposed to explain observed properties of a molecule or ion.