So4 -2 Lewis High Quality -

Suddenly, a wise old floated by. "You have a secret power, Sulfur," it whispered. "You are in Period 3. You can expand your octet. Use your empty 3d orbitals ."

In the bustling molecular city of , there lived a famous central figure named Sulfur . Sulfur was a bit of an overachiever. While his neighbors, like Oxygen and Hydrogen, were happy with simple bonds, Sulfur wanted to connect with everyone. so4 -2 lewis

Sulfur’s eyes lit up. "Of course!"

But there was a problem. When Sulfur tried to share a single pair of electrons with each Oxygen (making four single bonds), he ran out of electrons. He was left with a miserable +4 formal charge, and each Oxygen had a -1 charge. The structure was unstable, like a table with three legs. Suddenly, a wise old floated by

"Let's bond!" said Sulfur. "I have six valence electrons of my own. You four each have six. Together, we can form a stable ring of eight." You can expand your octet

One day, Sulfur decided to host the biggest gathering in the valley. He sent invitations to four Oxygen atoms.

Every millisecond, the double bonds would hop from one Oxygen to another. Click. Now a different Oxygen has the double bond. Click. Now another.