answer is attached
Explanation:
Benzene is a common organic solvent that was previously used in gasoline; it is no longer used for this purpose, however, because it is now known to be a carcinogen. The benzene molecule (C6H6C6H6) consists of a regular hexagon of carbon atoms, each of which is also bonded to a hydrogen atom. Use resonance structures to describe the bonding in benzene.
Given: molecular formula and molecular geometry
Asked for: resonance structures
Strategy:
Draw a structure for benzene illustrating the bonded atoms. Then calculate the number of valence electrons used in this drawing.
Subtract this number from the total number of valence electrons in benzene and then locate the remaining electrons such that each atom in the structure reaches an octet.
Draw the resonance structures for benzene.
Solution:
A Each hydrogen atom contributes 1 valence electron, and each carbon atom contributes 4 valence electrons, for a total of (6 × 1) + (6 × 4) = 30 valence electrons. If we place a single bonding electron pair between each pair of carbon atoms and between each carbon and a hydrogen atom, we obtain the following:
Each carbon atom in this structure has only 6 electrons and has a formal charge of +1, but we have used only 24 of the 30 valence electrons.
B If the 6 remaining electrons are uniformly distributed pairwise on alternate carbon atoms, we obtain the following:
Three carbon atoms now have an octet configuration and a formal charge of −1, while three carbon atoms have only 6 electrons and a formal charge of +1. We can convert each lone pair to a bonding electron pair, which gives each atom an octet of electrons and a formal charge of 0, by making three C=C double bonds.
C There are, however, two ways to do this:
Each structure has alternating double and single bonds, but experimentation shows that each carbon–carbon bond in benzene is identical, with bond lengths (139.9 pm) intermediate between those typically found for a C–C single bond (154 pm) and a C=C double bond (134 pm). We can describe the bonding in benzene using the two resonance structures, but the actual electronic structure is an average of the two. The existence of multiple resonance structures for aromatic hydrocarbons like benzene is often indicated by drawing either a circle or dashed lines inside the hexagon:
