Chapter 10, Problem 10.114QE

Formamide, HC(O)NH₂, is prepared at high pressures from carbon monoxide and ammonia, and serves as an industrial solvent (the parentheses around the O indicate that it is bonded only to the carbon atom and that the carbon atom is also bonded to the H and the N atoms). Two resonance forms (one with formal charges) can be written for formamide. Write both resonance structures, and predict the bond angles about the carbon and nitrogen atoms for each resonance form. Are they the same? Describe how the experimental determination of the H–N–H bond angle could be used to indicate which resonance form is more important.