NEET 2026
- Exam
- NEET
- Year
- 2026
- Subject
- Chemistry
- Chapter
- Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure
NEET 2026 · Chemistry · Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure
The correct formal charges on oxygen atoms numbered 2 , 1 and 3...
The correct formal charges on oxygen atoms numbered , and respectively are :

Options
- A
- B
- C
- D
Correct answer
B.
Step-by-step solution
The formal charge (FC) on an atom in a Lewis structure is given by the formula:
where is the number of valence electrons, is the number of non-bonding electrons, and is the number of shared (bonding) electrons.
For oxygen, the number of valence electrons is .
For oxygen atom (central atom):
It has lone pair ( non-bonding electrons) bonds ( shared electrons).
For oxygen atom (left atom):
It has lone pairs ( non-bonding electrons) bonds ( shared electrons).
For oxygen atom (right atom):
It has lone pairs ( non-bonding electrons) bond ( shared electrons).
The formal charges on oxygen atoms numbered , , and respectively are .
Answer:
where is the number of valence electrons, is the number of non-bonding electrons, and is the number of shared (bonding) electrons.
For oxygen, the number of valence electrons is .
For oxygen atom (central atom):
It has lone pair ( non-bonding electrons) bonds ( shared electrons).
For oxygen atom (left atom):
It has lone pairs ( non-bonding electrons) bonds ( shared electrons).
For oxygen atom (right atom):
It has lone pairs ( non-bonding electrons) bond ( shared electrons).
The formal charges on oxygen atoms numbered , , and respectively are .
Answer: