Question

Calculate bond pair SO3-2

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To calculate the bond pairs in the sulfite ion (\( \text{SO}_3^{2-} \)), we need to analyze its molecular structure.

The sulfite ion consists of:

- 1 sulfur (S) atom
- 3 oxygen (O) atoms
- The overall charge of -2

### Step 1: Determine the Lewis Structure

1. **Count the total valence electrons**:
- Sulfur has 6 valence electrons.
- Each oxygen atom has 6 valence electrons, and there are 3 of them, contributing a total of \( 3 \times 6 = 18 \) valence electrons.
- The -2 charge adds 2 additional electrons.
- Total = 6 (S) + 18 (3 O) + 2 (extra) = 26 valence electrons.

2. **Arrange the atoms**:
- Sulfur is the central atom, surrounded by three oxygen atoms.

3. **Distribute electrons**:
- Form single bonds between sulfur and each oxygen. Each bond uses 2 electrons.
- For 3 single bonds, \( 3 \times 2 = 6 \) electrons are used, leaving \( 26 - 6 = 20 \) electrons.

4. **Complete the octets of the oxygen atoms**:
- Each oxygen needs 8 electrons total. Each already has 2 from the S-O bond, so we need to place 6 more around each oxygen.
- Distributing these, each of the 3 oxygens will have 6 electrons (3 pairs) around them.

5. **Handle the charge and create double bonds if necessary**:
- After putting lone pairs on the oxygen atoms, we find that the sulfur does not have a complete octet, so we can form a double bond with one of the oxygen atoms.
- The resulting structure will have one S=O double bond and two S-O single bonds.

### Step 2: Identify the Bond Pairs

In the final Lewis structure, you will find:

- **1 double bond** between sulfur and one oxygen atom (counted as one bond pair).
- **2 single bonds** between sulfur and the other two oxygen atoms (each counted as one bond pair).

### Conclusion

The total number of bond pairs in \( \text{SO}_3^{2-} \) is:

- 1 (from the double bond) + 2 (from single bonds) = **3 bond pairs**.

Thus, the sulfite ion (\( \text{SO}_3^{2-} \)) has **3 bond pairs** in its structure.

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