For a molecule of fluorous acid, the atoms are arranged as HOFO.

What is the formal charge on each of the atoms? Enter the formal charges in the same order as the atoms are listed.

For this question I tried entering:

+1,-2,+3,-2 and it was wrong...as was:
+1,-2,-1,+2

what should be the correct form if these are both wrong?!

HOFO.

H is 0
O is 0
F is +1
O is -1

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Some things to remember about formal charges. +3 is MOST uncommon so do a reality check to make sure you did it right.

Second point. How did you come up with these numbers. Here is a site to help you with formal charges. Let me know if I can help. This site, I think, makes it far to complicated. I think there is an easier way to do it. But take a look at it, anyway. http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/sciences/chemistry/Inorganicchemistry/Informationbonding/bondingindex/FormalCharge/FormalCharge.htm

Here is a site that I think is a little simpler at explaining formal charges.

http://www.cornellcollege.edu/chemistry/chemstds/fcharge.shtml

hmmm, how is that possible? I calculated it to be 0, 0, 0, 0. Just to make sure, H is singly bonded to oxygen which is singly bonded to fluorine, which is double bonded to oxygen, right?

Hmm, can you explain?

FC = valence e - lone pair e- 1/2bonded e.

FC for hydrogen = 1-0-1 = 0
FC for oxygen = 6-4-2 = 0
FC for fluorine = 7-4-3=0
FC for oxygen = 6-4-2=0

NVM! I violated an octet rule! hah!. DrBob, you're rite

To determine the formal charges on the atoms in a molecule, you need to follow a specific method. Here's how you can calculate the formal charges for each atom in fluorous acid (HOFO):

1. Identify the valence electrons of each atom:
- Hydrogen (H) has 1 valence electron.
- Oxygen (O) has 6 valence electrons.

2. Determine the number of electrons surrounding each atom in the Lewis structure:
- The central oxygen atom is bonded to two fluorine atoms (F) and one hydrogen atom (H). Hence, oxygen will have 3 electrons surrounding it.
- The two outer oxygen atoms are each bonded to one hydrogen atom (H) and one fluorine atom (F), so they will have 2 electrons surrounding them.
- The hydrogen atom (H) connected to the central oxygen will have only 1 electron surrounding it.

3. Calculate the formal charge for each atom:
The formal charge of an atom can be calculated using the formula: Formal charge = Valence electrons - Lone pair electrons - 1/2 * Bonded electrons

- Central oxygen (O1):
Formal charge of O1 = 6 - 6 - 1/2 * 6 (bonds to F and H) = 0

- Outer oxygen (O2):
Formal charge of O2 = 6 - 4 - 1/2 * 4 (bonds to F and H) = 0

- Outer oxygen (O3):
Formal charge of O3 = 6 - 4 - 1/2 * 4 (bonds to F and H) = 0

- Hydrogen (H1):
Formal charge of H1 = 1 - 0 - 1/2 * 2 (bond to O1) = +1

- Fluorine (F1):
Formal charge of F1 = 7 - 2 - 1/2 * 2 (bond to O1) = 0

- Fluorine (F2):
Formal charge of F2 = 7 - 2 - 1/2 * 2 (bond to O2) = 0

Since the formal charges for all the atoms in fluorous acid are calculated as 0 or +1, the correct order should be:
0, +1, 0, 0, 0, 0

Make sure to follow this procedure of calculating formal charges step by step, and you should be able to determine the correct formal charges for any molecule.