The correct formal charges on oxygen atoms numbered $2, 1$ and $3$ respectively are :

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/ddr1kuyb3/image/upload/v1786123042/questions/jkbqukkwqbm63fcle21x.png)

Question

The correct formal charges on oxygen atoms numbered $2, 1$ and $3$ respectively are :

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/ddr1kuyb3/image/upload/v1786123042/questions/jkbqukkwqbm63fcle21x.png)

Accepted Answer

B. 1. The **formal charge** on an atom in a Lewis structure is calculated using the formula:
$$
	ext{Formal charge} = (	ext{Valence electrons}) - (	ext{Non-bonding electrons}) - \frac{1}{2}(	ext{Bonding electrons})
$$
Here, oxygen has 6 valence electrons.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/ddr1kuyb3/image/upload/v1786123043/questions/p3c0ja9wc7uasszogccc.png)

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/ddr1kuyb3/image/upload/v1786123044/questions/su3vpdzz0bsn8roysdec.png)

2. For oxygen atom **2**, it has 4 bonding electrons (two shared bonds) and 4 non-bonding electrons, so:
$$
	ext{Formal charge} = 6 - 4 - \frac{1}{2}(4) = 0
$$

3. For oxygen atom **1**, it has 6 bonding electrons and 2 non-bonding electrons, so:
$$
	ext{Formal charge} = 6 - 2 - \frac{1}{2}(6) = +1
$$

4. For oxygen atom **3**, it has 2 bonding electrons and 6 non-bonding electrons, so:
$$
	ext{Formal charge} = 6 - 6 - \frac{1}{2}(2) = -1
$$

5. So the formal charges on oxygen atoms 2, 1 and 3 respectively are:
$$
0,\ +1,\ -1
$$

Hence, the answer is **B**.

The correct formal charges on oxygen atoms numbered 2,12, 12,1 and 333 respectively are :

The correct formal charges on oxygen atoms numbered $2, 1$ and $3$ respectively are :