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LIVE LAB 11 • GENERAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Connect aligned p-orbital overlap with imaginary canonical contributors and the real resonance hybrid across 23 important conjugated systems.
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COMPLETE CONCEPT GUIDE
A single Lewis structure sometimes cannot represent the electron distribution adequately. Resonance contributors describe the same arrangement of atoms using different placements of electrons; the real species has a delocalised electronic structure.
Valid contributors retain the same atom positions, total electron count and overall charge. Electron pairs and unpaired electrons may be represented differently. Moving an atom creates a different structure, not another resonance contributor.
Neighbouring orbitals must overlap appropriately for delocalisation. Rotate the 3D model to inspect the p orbitals. Twisting parts of a conjugated system can reduce overlap and weaken conjugation.
Equivalent contributors contribute equally, but non-equivalent ones need not. Octet satisfaction, formal charges and the placement of charge help compare contributors. The resonance hybrid is not a molecule switching back and forth between drawings.
RESONANCE 3D LAB FAQ
Equilibrium involves distinct chemical species. Resonance contributors are alternative representations of one species; they are not separate molecules interconverting in an equilibrium.
Delocalisation distributes bonding and negative charge across the two oxygen atoms. For an isolated, symmetric carboxylate group, the two equivalent contributors describe equivalent carbon–oxygen bonds.
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