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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2006  > May  >
Research: Science and Education
Valence, Oxidation Number, and Formal Charge: Three Related but Fundamentally Different Concepts
Gerard Parkin
Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
Cover
May 2006
Vol. 83 No. 5
p. 791
Abstract
Terms such as valence, oxidation number, coordination number, formal charge, and number of bonds are widely used throughout chemistry. Although each of these terms has a distinct meaning, their utility is lessened by imprecise usage. Valence, for example, is frequently taken to be synonymous with oxidation number. However, while valence and oxidation number are coincidentally equal for many compounds, the relationship breaks down in many cases; in such situations, the use of oxidation number instead of valence can result in misleading descriptions of molecules. The purpose of this article is to clarify these terms and illustrate how the valence of an atom in a molecule provides a much more meaningful criterion for establishing the chemical reasonableness of a molecule than does the oxidation number.
More Information
*  Citation
 Parkin, Gerard. J. Chem. Educ. 2006 83 791.
*  Keywords
 Coordination Compounds; Covalent Bonding; First-Year Undergraduate / General; Graduate Education / Research; Inorganic Chemistry; Lewis Structures; Misconceptions / Discrepant Events; Organic Chemistry; Oxidation State; Textbooks / Reference Books; Upper-Division Undergraduate
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 3/16/2006
3/22/2006
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