Resonance

Formal Charge on an Atom

$$\text{Formal Charge} = V - L - \frac{1}{2} \cdot S$$

Concept: Calculates the theoretical electrical charge assigned to an individual atom in a molecular structure, assuming all chemical bonds are shared equally regardless of electronegativity.

Notation:

• $$V$$ = Total number of valence electrons in the free, unbonded atom;
• $$L$$ = Total number of non-bonding or lone pair electrons;
• $$S$$ = Total number of bonding or shared electrons.