Chapter 14, Problem 3PP

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

The reason that the structures for benzene having alternate long and short bonds violate a basic principle of resonance theory is to be explained.

Concept introduction:

Resonating structures exhibit the movement of electrons and are drawn by moving the electrons. The position of atoms present in the compound does not change. Resonating structures describes the delocalization of electrons within molecules. It compares and contrasts two or more possible Lewis structures that can represent a particular molecule. Resonance structures are used when one Lewis structure for a single molecule cannot fully describe the bonding that takes place between neighboring atoms relative to the empirical data for the actual bond lengths between those atoms. The net sum of valid resonance structures is defined as a resonance hybrid, which represents the overall delocalization of electrons within the molecule. A molecule that has several resonance structures is more stable than one with fewer.