Chemistry 101 Name:_________________________
RESONANCE STRUCTURES & FORMAL CHARGES
Exit Ticket 21
1. Methyl isocyanate (H3CNCO) is a toxic compound used in production of many pesticides.
Draw the Lewis structure for this compound, including any resonance structures.
(Note: skeletal arrangement is in order written)
2. Oxidation of the cyanide ion produces the stable cyanate ion (OCN–). The fulminate ion
(CNO–), on the other hand, is very unstable. Write Lewis structures for these ions and
assign formal charges to each atom. (Both skeletal arrangements are as written)
a) Are these ions resonance structures of one another? Explain.
b) Give an explanation for why the fulminate ion is so unstable.
