Resonance

When one drawing isn’t enough

An interactive lesson with 7 steps, about 6 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• When several equally good Lewis structures exist, the real molecule is a blend (resonance).
• Bond order = shared pairs ÷ links: 1.5 in ozone, 1.33 in nitrate.
• Delocalised electrons make molecules more stable.

Steps

1. Ozone’s two faces
2. Draw ozone
3. Half a bond
4. A common misunderstanding
5. Three ways to share
6. Nitrate’s bond order
7. Sharing the charge