[Skyrim]

I was able to come up with a total of 7 possible Lewis structures of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). I am convinced that some of them are incorrect but I'm not sure of the reason why. They all count electrons correctly, but their formal charges are different.

Which ones are correct and which ones are not and why? I have included some important notes for your convenience but I need the answer...

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/202/nitrogendioxide.jpg/

Thanks!

[UG]

I think you want the structures with the negative formal charges on the more electronegative atom(s) and you want the formal charges to be spread as evenly as possible, ie, don't have a single atom bearing a +/-2 or +/-3 formal charges.

[Skyrim]

I think you want the structures with the negative formal charges on the more electronegative atom(s) and you want the formal charges to be spread as evenly as possible, ie, don't have a single atom bearing a +/-2 or +/-3 formal charges.

Thank you for your reply. Would I be correct, therefore, in claiming that the only correct Lewis structures would be the ones in the two top-left ones in the diagram? (They would exist as a resonance structure).

[UG]

What about the two on the right? None of the atoms have formal charges.