Why Everyone's Getting The SO2 Lewis Structure Wrong - OpenSIPS Trunking Solutions
Overview
The two bonds are identical.
I had the notion that sulfur had expanded valence electrons. Read also: The Slayeas Leak: A Whistleblower's Explosive Claims You Need To Hear
Lewis structure of so2 (or sulfur dioxide) contains two double bonds between the sulfur (s) atom and each oxygen (o) atom.
The sulfur atom (s) is at the center and it is surrounded by 2 oxygen atoms (o). Read also: 5 Things You Didn't Know About This Knoxville Craigslist Find
So the above obtained lewis structure of so2 is not stable.
We have to minimize these charges by shifting the electron pairs towards the sulfur atom.
After shifting the electron pair from oxygen atom to sulfur atom, the lewis structure of so2 becomes more stable.
So2 is kinda weird.
We have these things called resonance structures and it turns out so2 has three of them.
We use what we call formal charges to deduce the best or most representative lewis structure and as it turns out it is the third one.
The bonds in so2 has bond order about 1. 5.
Lewis structures are fine for some things.
But in this case you should think in terms of resonance structure.
The valence electrons are delocalized.
Resonance structure explain the possibility of multiple valid so2 lewis structures.
I think the second picture is the more stable version and thus more abundant which explain why you may see that structure more common.
The second picture is what the lewis diagram should look like.