High School

Assign a formal charge to each atom in the student's proposed Lewis structure for the ONCl molecule.

A. Nitrogen: +1, Oxygen: -1, Chlorine: 0
B. Nitrogen: 0, Oxygen: 0, Chlorine: 0
C. Nitrogen: -1, Oxygen: +1, Chlorine: 0
D. Nitrogen: +1, Oxygen: 0, Chlorine: -1

Answer :

Final Answer:

Nitrogen has a formal charge of -1 due to an excess of electrons, oxygen has a formal charge of +1 due to a deficiency of electrons, and chlorine has a formal charge of 0, as it has the appropriate number of valence electrons in the proposed Lewis structure. Therefore, the correct answer is c) Nitrogen: -1, Oxygen: +1, Chlorine: 0.

Explanation:

In assigning formal charges to atoms in a Lewis structure, we follow the rule that the sum of the formal charges should equal the overall charge of the molecule, which in this case is 0 because ONCl is a neutral molecule.

Here's how the formal charges are assigned:

- Nitrogen (N) has 5 valence electrons. In the proposed structure, it is bonded to one oxygen atom (sharing 2 electrons) and one chlorine atom (sharing 2 electrons), and it has one lone pair of electrons. To calculate its formal charge: Valence electrons (5) - 1/2(bonded electrons) (2) - lone pair electrons (2) = -1. So, Nitrogen has a formal charge of -1.

- Oxygen (O) has 6 valence electrons. In the proposed structure, it is bonded to one nitrogen atom (sharing 2 electrons) and one chlorine atom (sharing 2 electrons), and it has two lone pairs of electrons. To calculate its formal charge: Valence electrons (6) - 1/2(bonded electrons) (2) - lone pair electrons (4) = +1. So, Oxygen has a formal charge of +1.

- Chlorine (Cl) has 7 valence electrons. In the proposed structure, it is bonded to one nitrogen atom (sharing 2 electrons) and one oxygen atom (sharing 2 electrons). To calculate its formal charge: Valence electrons (7) - 1/2(bonded electrons) (2) = 0. So, Chlorine has a formal charge of 0.

Therefore, the correct assignment of formal charges for the ONCl molecule is:

- Nitrogen: -1

- Oxygen: +1

- Chlorine: 0, which corresponds to option c).

Therefore, the correct answer is c) Nitrogen: -1, Oxygen: +1, Chlorine: 0.

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