The carbonate ion \text{CO}3^{2-} has bond lengths that are

All equal, intermediate between C-O single and C=O double Three equivalent resonance structures average to identical C-O bonds, length ≈ 4/3 bond order.

All equal, intermediate between C-O single and C=O double

Two single bonds and one double bond, of different lengths

Resonance and Formal Charge

AP Chemistry· difficulty 4/5

\text{CO}_3^{2-}

A
$All equal, intermediate between C-O single and C=O double$
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B
$Three different lengths$
C
$All very long single bonds$
D
$Two single bonds and one double bond, of different lengths$

Explanation

Three equivalent resonance structures average to identical C-O bonds, length \approx 4/3 bond order.

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