What is the formal charge (FN) of H2O

Answer 1

The formula for calculating formal charge (FN) is:

Formal charge = Valence electrons - (Number of lone pair electrons + 0.5 * Number of bonding electrons)

For H2O (water), the valence electrons for oxygen (O) is 6, and for hydrogen (H) is 1.

Oxygen (O):
Number of lone pair electrons = 4 (two lone pairs)
Number of bonding electrons = 4 (two bonds with hydrogen)

Formal charge for oxygen = 6 - (4 + 0.5*4) = 6 - 6 = 0

Hydrogen (H):
Number of lone pair electrons = 0
Number of bonding electrons = 2 (one bond with oxygen)

Formal charge for each hydrogen = 1 - (0 + 0.5*2) = 1 - 1 = 0

Therefore, the formal charge of each atom in H2O (water) is 0.