6 Resonance

Electrons in conjugated anions and cations are not stationary: they flow like waves backwards and forwards. Like a plucked guitar string, these waves have higher amplitudes on some atoms than others. We use resonance structures to predict which atoms bear most of negative or positive charge, and this eBook is to help students learn how. It introduces the impacts of resonance on basicity, situations in which it is unfavorable and favorable in neutral molecules, and an illustrative example of resonance in biochemistry.