Oxygen has a charge of -2
Sulfur has a charge of -2
My product in a equation is S02
but how is this possible is they both have the same charge?
because now the S has a charge of -2
and the O of -4
S here has +4. O always is -2, except in peroxides, and there it is -1.
so does that mean that S can have a net ionic charge of +4 as well as -2?
In the case of the compound SO2, you are correct that oxygen typically has a charge of -2 and sulfur also has a charge of -2. However, it's important to note that in chemical compounds, elements often form bonds to achieve stability by filling their valence shells.
In the case of SO2, sulfur can share its electrons with two oxygen atoms to form two covalent bonds. Each oxygen atom shares two electrons with sulfur, allowing sulfur to complete its valence shell with eight electrons. As a result, sulfur has a charge of +4 in SO2, while each oxygen atom has a charge of -2.
To determine the charges, you can assign oxidation numbers by considering the electronegativity of the elements and the rules for assigning partial charges. In this case, sulfur is less electronegative than oxygen, so it will typically have a positive charge (oxidation number) in compounds with oxygen.
To calculate the oxidation numbers more precisely, you can use the following steps:
1. Determine the known oxidation numbers: Oxygen is typically -2, and sulfur is typically +2 or +4.
2. Since there are two oxygen atoms in SO2, the total charge from oxygen is (-2) * 2 = -4.
3. Assign the remaining charge to sulfur: Since the overall charge of SO2 is neutral, the sulfur atom must have a charge of +4 to balance out the -4 charge from the oxygen atoms.
So, in summary, the compound SO2 is possible because sulfur can form bonds with oxygen by sharing electrons, resulting in a compound where the sulfur atom has a charge of +4 and each oxygen atom has a charge of -2.