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Why do both of the single bonded oxygens in nitrate have -1 charges?
So I'm starting to muddle through the idea of oxidation numbers and I know how to get those, but I'm still slightly confused. I see that in nitrate the nitrogen has a +1 overall charge and the two oxygens without the double bond each have a -1 charge, but why? I can sort of see one oxygen having a -1 charge because of the overall charge of the nitrate compound
[NO3]^(-1)<---
but somehow I doubt that's why it's -1, and also doesn't account for why the other is also -1.
I appreciate any help, I am really at a loss
1 Answer
- Anonymous9 years agoFavorite Answer
It has to deal with something called formal charge.
Formal charge is calculated by:
Formal charge = Zeff(Charge of nucleus - innerelectrons) - # of bonds to atom/2 - number of non-bonded electrons.
The oxygens have a -1 charge each, and the nitrogen has a +1 charge. When you sum these up (-2 for oxygens +1 for nitrogen) you get a -1 charge.
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